Bridging Reading Gaps for English Learners

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3 Credits | 45 CPE hours

Regular price
$199.00
Sale price
$199.00
Regular price
$199.00
Download Syllabus
  • ELL
  • Language Acquisition
  • New
Course Description:

What does it take to turn English Learners into confident, successful readers? This course delivers practical, research-backed strategies to accelerate reading development while honoring your students’ unique linguistic and cultural strengths.
You’ll explore how language acquisition drives literacy and discover how to bridge listening, speaking, reading, and writing to build a complete learning foundation. We’ll dive deep into designing instruction that strengthens vocabulary, background knowledge, and comprehension. You will also master using screening and diagnostic data to precisely target your students' needs.
Grounded in equity, this course emphasizes culturally responsive practices—from selecting diverse texts to building powerful family partnerships. You’ll walk away with a toolkit of adaptable frameworks and instructional tools designed to help ELs tackle complex texts and thrive academically.

Objectives:

By the end of this course, learners will:

  • Analyze ML profiles to better understand the diverse demographics, linguistic backgrounds, and identification systems that impact equity and access for multilingual learners.
  • Bridge language & literacy by applying theories of second language acquisition to understand how the four domains—reading, writing, listening, and speaking—interact during literacy development.
  • Design responsive foundational instruction by creating phonics, vocabulary, and grammar lessons that honor students’ home languages while building grade-level decoding and comprehension skills.
  • Develop strategies to build and leverage students’ background knowledge and schema to help them make meaning from complex texts.
  • Master equitable assessment by evaluating screening and diagnostic data to identify student strengths and design responsive instructional plans that remove learning barriers.
  • Select culturally sustaining texts and critically evaluate and choose instructional materials that affirm diverse racial, cultural, and linguistic identities.
  • Foster inclusive environments by reflecting on personal and institutional biases to create a classroom culture that centers student assets rather than deficits.
  • Partner with families by creating actionable engagement plans that position families as essential partners in their child’s literacy development.
  • Synthesize frameworks by integrating assessment, instruction, and identity into a cohesive framework that promotes equitable literacy outcomes in any teaching context.

We offer online professional development courses for teachers in Texas that are eligible for Graduate-level Professional Development Credit and CPE Credits towards Texas State License Renewal.

TEA-approved CPE providers list.

  • Texas Approved CPE Provider # 500-494 (Since 2004)
  • Our provider name is CPE Credits Online

To Enroll in a Course:

  • Select the course you wish to take.
  • If you need a certificate of completion only (for Texas CPEs), choose the Course Only option. Or…
  • If you need an official transcript, choose the Course & University Credits option. See our University Partners page for more information about our regionally accredited university partners.
  • Add the course to your cart.
  • When you are ready to check out, go to your cart, and click “Check Out”.
  • You will be asked to log into your account or create a new account.
  • Follow the enrollment and payment prompts. If you have a gift card or discount code, you will enter it at the end of the enrollment process.
  • Upon purchase, you will receive an email receipt and be able to log in to your course at eClassroom Sign in. You have 180 days (about 6 months) from your purchase to complete your course.

If you have any questions, check out our FAQs or email support@cecreditsonline.org.

Credit Options

Course + Credit Courses

  • We have partnered with regionally-accredited universities to provide graduate-level professional development credits for our courses. See our University Partners tab.  All courses taken for graduate-level credit receive both a Certificate of Completion and a University Transcript for your records.
  • Upon enrollment, you will select the University from which you wish your credits.
  • Upon completion of your course, CE Credits Online will forward all the required documentation to the University you selected.
  • The University partner will process your course completion and provide a transcript that includes the name of the course, course number, number of credits, and your grade.
  • You will receive directions on how to receive your transcript in email form, and you can also review the University Partners section of our website for more information.

CPE Credits

  • CE Credits Online is an approved provider of CPE credits. TEA-approved CPE providers list. (always check with your district to determine eligibility).
  • Upon successful completion of your course, you will receive a Certificate of Completion for your records that will include the name of the course and number of professional development hours completed.
  • The Certificate of Completion acts as a record that verifies that a professional development course was taken and passed.