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Early Literacy & Numeracy Foundations
About this course
A practical elective for primary teachers on the foundations of reading and early mathematics: oral language and sound awareness, letters and sounds in the Uzbek Latin and Russian Cyrillic scripts, fluency and comprehension, number sense, counting and place value, and early maths talk and games, ending with simple ways to notice and support children who are falling behind.
Learning outcomes
- Explain how children become readers and use short daily routines for oral language and sound awareness
- Teach letter-sound links, blending and segmenting in the Uzbek Latin and Russian Cyrillic scripts, including their tricky points
- Build reading fluency and comprehension with partner reading, retelling and three kinds of questions
- Develop number sense, counting and place value with concrete materials, ten frames and bundles of ten
- Use maths talk and simple games, notice early signs of difficulty and plan short, targeted support
Session plan
How Children Become Readers: Talk and Sounds
Explain how reading grows from language and sound awareness, and plan a five-minute daily routine of talk and sound games for your class.
Letters and Sounds: Uzbek Latin and Russian Cyrillic
Teach a new letter-sound link with a short sound-first routine, and anticipate the tricky points of the Uzbek Latin and Russian Cyrillic scripts.
Reading Fluently and Understanding What We Read
Plan a 15-minute reading segment that builds fluency with partner reading and builds comprehension with retelling and three kinds of questions.
Number Sense, Counting and Place Value
Check whether children really understand counting, and teach place value with concrete materials, ten frames and bundles of ten.
Maths Talk, Games and Early Help
Use maths talk and simple games in every lesson, and for one child who is falling behind, find the gap with a quick check and plan 10 minutes of daily help.
Assessment
| Weight | Exemplary looks like | |
|---|---|---|
| Sound and letter routines | 30% | Designs short routines that fit the script of the class and move from sounds to letters to words |
| Reading and number lesson segments | 35% | Plans a fluency-and-comprehension segment and a place-value segment with concrete materials and clear checks |
| Notice-and-support plan | 35% | Uses a quick check to find the gap, then writes a 10-minute support routine and a way to track progress weekly |
Required readings
- Evidence-based guidance on teaching early literacy in the first years of school
- Short guide to counting principles, number sense and place value for early grades
- Practical overview of early warning signs of reading and maths difficulties and targeted support
AI integration
AI tools can help with drafting: a first list of words for a sound game, a short practice text or a set of counting-game cards. They never replace your judgement about your pupils, your textbook and your script, and they often make errors with Uzbek spelling, Russian stress and letter-sound counts while sounding sure. Check every word and sentence yourself, and never enter pupils' names or personal details. See course 5.9 (AI Literacy for Teachers) for the full routine. No activity here needs technology.