Welcome to our Stages 1&2 ONLiNE Course where we focus on 'Developing Decoding Fluency with your beginner readers.

If you are in PREVIEW mode you have full access to the lessons in the table of contents that are NOT padlocked! These lessons provide you with a great opportunity to dive into the rationale behind this course and to see if the content and the course design is going to meet your needs.

For each unit we provide written explanations, video clips of the teaching, and video segments from live training webinars so that you get a variety of media to gain an understanding of the teaching and learning.

The first 20 hours of teaching practice are make or break
This is ‘at-your-own-pace’ learning BUT we know from experience that the best results occur when the learner completes the 8 units in 10-12 weeks and works hard at implementing the practical components of the training into their classroom.

That will determine whether SharpReading becomes a lifelong teaching tool or just another good idea that sits on your computer and expires in 12 months’ time. 

Here are some things you should do to GET STARTED!

UNIT 1: GETTING STARTED

If you have already enrolled and have full access to the course, your next port of call is to familiarise yourself with everything that is provided inside this unit (see the list of contents).
Not all of these lessons are available in Preview mode).

1.2 RESOURCE LIBRARY for Stages 1&2
We have stored all the downloadable files and resources that you will need throughout the course in one place for easy access. You won't need to download everything straight away, but take a minute to familiarise yourself with what is there so you know where to find it..

• DOWNLOAD and PRINT OFF your Stages 1&2 Course Book
  This is your 'at-your-fingertips' classroom reference which contains all of the teacher scripts, planning and assessment templates, summary notes and self-evaluation sheets that you will need during your training.

• ACTIVATE the weekly email Follow-Up series
  If you haven't already received your first follow-up email (check your SPAM folder) then sign-up using the form in the Resource Library.

1.3 BOOK a Start-Up Webinar
This is optional but a REALLY good way to get you quickly immersed in your training. It is a personalised session, one-on-one (you can include colleagues who are also starting their training) and on a date and at a time that suits you. How often do you get an offer like that?
PLEASE NOTE:
If you have been enrolled on this course as part of a School-Wide PLD, this offer does not apply as your school will have made arrangements for a Start-Up TOD as a Webinar or a face-to-face Workshop.

1.4 Book Zoom Coaching Sessions
This is another big plus - you have 2 x 30-minute one-on-one Zoom Coaching sessions built into this course. Have a look to see how it works. You probably won't need this just yet (you have a Start-Up webinar to get you going), but you can come back and activate this at any time during your 12 months.

Spend Time on Classroom Set-Up

If you are new to running reading rotations, or if it is the beginning of the year, you need to spend time organising your students according to their needs and abilities and establishing a working environment that is going to allow you to take reading groups.

A. Form ability groups – Classroom Organisation
From their phonics instruction, you should be able to create some similar ability groups based on PM levels. If not, form groups anyway, and it will soon become apparent if your grouping is accurate.
More about this in subsequent units.

B. Train your students to work independently and quietly so that you are not interrupted during guided reading group lessons.
This can be a tough ask for 5 to 6-year-olds olds but you need to find 10-minute activities that they can rotate through and spend time training your students to engage in them quietly so that you can focus on your group reading sessions.

FINALLY, read the following 1 User Licence Agreement and make sure you understand your copyright obligations.

COPYRIGHT LICENCE AGREEMENT - Terms and conditions
By accessing the units (beyond PREVIEW) you are agreeing to the following:

This is a 1 USER LICENCE which is active for 12 months and is NOT transferable 
Everyone who undertakes this training must purchase a 1 User Licence and have their own login.
This allows us to customise the training specifically for you. You may login on a number of your own devices but DO NOT share your login details. We monitor IP addresses.

Thank you for respecting our intellectual property.

Please mark this lesson as COMPLETE to indicate that you have familiarised yourself with what is available in UNIT 1 and agree to our terms and conditions (above).

NOW, if you have done all that, it's time to get started on your Stages 1&2 Training in UNIT 2