Wilson Reading System^® (WRS) Level II Certification

To seek WRS Level II Certification, one must complete WRS Level I Certification.

There are four components required to achieve WRS Level II Certification. These are organized into two courses of study: small group implementation or advanced word study. Participants may choose either course of study to begin. Each course of study may take up to 15 months to complete and may be taken consecutively or concurrently.

• One course of study focuses on how to implement Structured Literacy instruction successfully in small–group settings:

  • WRS Advanced Strategies for MSL Group Instruction Course
  • WRS Group Mastery Practicum

  All WRS Level I and Level II Practicum lessons must be delivered using 4^th edition materials.

The second course of study focuses on teaching students at advanced word study components (WRS Steps 7–12):

• WRS Advanced Word Study: Online Course (Steps 7–12)
• WRS Steps 7-12 Practicum

All WRS Level I and Level II Practicum lessons must be delivered using 4^th edition materials.

Individuals who successfully meet all the requirements receive WRS Level II Certification and are able to:

• Deepen skills developed in the WRS Level I Certification.
• Understand course methodology and demonstrate understanding of advanced language structure when instructing individual students using the WRS in Steps 7-12.
• Accurately teach the structure of the English language (presented in WRS Steps 7-12): consonant & vowel phonemes, syllable structure, common orthographic rules and advanced spelling patterns including spelling option procedures, and word elements such as common Latin and Greek bases, prefixes, and suffixes, etc.
• Review the planning for and execution of WRS Lesson Blocks 1, 2, and 3 and differentiating instruction for maximum small-group success.
• Appropriately pace a group of students through the curriculum, developing mastery of material taught, designing group lessons that focus on accuracy, automaticity, and fluency of word and text reading.
• Identify the characteristics of dyslexia and related language-based learning disabilities.
• Use assessments to identify students with word-level deficits who are appropriate for an intensive intervention in a small, homogeneous group setting.
• Diagnostically plan and deliver group lessons, while addressing and understanding individual student weaknesses that impact the ability to learn to read and write.
• Understand the necessary principles of instruction used to teach students with a language-based learning disability: direct, explicit, systematic, structured, sequential, integrated, multisensory, synthetic, analytical, diagnostic, prescriptive, mastery/automaticity, cumulative, metacognitive, and emotionally sound. 
• Foster a positive instructional climate with clearly established rules and routines.
• Guide students to correct errors through questioning and use of their notebooks.
• Effectively use Structured Literacy instructional techniques, and demonstrate explicit teaching, modeling, guided practice, appropriate feedback, and consistent review in lessons in the group setting.
• Develop lessons to support the progression of comprehension skills, moving a student from foundational and initial phases to secondary and proficient phases.
• Develop a word-conscious lesson.
• Understand the role of spelling in writing fluency.
• Determine how to ensure students successfully access complex text (both literary and informational text structures).
• Understand how to select the appropriate text and tasks for students in order to effectively plan for and deliver fluency and comprehension instruction.