Building Strong Foundations with Phonics and Word Attack Skills

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRACKS:

Reading Instruction | Adult Basic Education | ESOL | K-12

LENGTH: 2 hours

This session introduces the building blocks of decoding and word recognition, emphasizing the importance of phonics and word attack strategies. Participants will explore how explicit, systematic phonics instruction supports struggling readers and how to help learners develop the skills needed to tackle unfamiliar words with confidence. Practical strategies, classroom activities, and intervention tools will be shared to strengthen decoding at all levels.

PART 2 OF 3 on READING INSTRUCTION:

• 12/19/25 Part 1: Building Automaticity and Confidence Through Reading Fluency
• 1/30/26 Part 2: Building Strong Foundations with Phonics and Word Attack Skills
• 2/20/26 Part 3: Expanding Meaning Through Vocabulary Development

 

FACILTATOR

Dr. Carmine Stewart is the ASPIRE Director of Greater Cleveland Neighborhood Centers Association and CEO of Aspire Consulting and Educational Services (ACES). In 2006 Dr. Stewart found her purpose and passion in the field of adult literacy education. To address the need for skilled classroom instructors, Dr. Stewart started ACES in 2007, providing training and technical assistance to improve educational outcomes for adult literacy learners. Dr. Stewart has trained adult literacy educators in Ohio, Georgia, California, Arizona, Louisiana, and Massachusetts. Her goal is to train educators in all 50 states. She holds her PhD in Urban Education from Cleveland State University, with an emphasis in adult learning and development.