Executive Functioning: The Hidden Foundation of Literacy Success

Executive functioning is the hidden foundation of literacy. In this training, you’ll learn how skills like goal setting, regulation, attention, planning, and reflection directly impact students’ ability to read and write. Discover practical strategies for embedding EF into your lessons to build stronger, more independent learners.

Explore Course

This course explores how executive functioning skills underpin literacy development. Participants will examine goal setting, regulation, attention, planning, and reflection, and learn strategies to integrate these skills into instruction. The session provides practical tools to support reading, writing, and overall student success.

Check out the other two courses in this mini-series:
Phonological Awareness in Practice: Building the Foundation for Literacy
How to Teach Phonics for Reading and Spelling Success

Presenters

Corey Pollard
M.S.
Corey Pollard is the founder and Executive Director of Ascend SMARTER Intervention, where she helps educators, SLPs, and schools deliver effective, data-driven literacy intervention. With a career that began at Johns Hopkins, Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Children’s Hospital Colorado, Corey has worked alongside leading neuropsychologists, speech-language pathologists, and learning specialists to translate research into practice. Today, she continues to work directly with students with specific learning disabilities. In addition to her clinic work, she is a speaker and trainer who delivers professional development nationwide on structured literacy, intervention systems, and the science of reading.

Learning Objectives

Describe the role of executive functioning in literacy development and student learning.
Identify key EF skills (goal setting, regulation, attention, planning, reflection) and explain their impact on reading and writing.
Demonstrate strategies for embedding EF skills into literacy instruction across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 contexts.
Apply the EF 5-Part Framework to classroom or therapy activities to support student independence.
Evaluate student needs to determine which EF supports are most critical in their setting.

Agenda

5 minutes	Welcome & Overview
10 minutes	Why EF Matters in Literacy
15 minutes	What EF Skills to Teach
15 minutes	How to Incorporate EF into Instruction
10 minutes	Practice & Application
5 minutes	Reflection & Q&A

Disclosures

Financial:	Corey Pollard (she/her) is the founder and Executive Director of Ascend SMARTER Intervention and receives financial compensation from the sale of curriculum and professional development trainings through Ascend Learning & Educational Consulting. Corey is receiving compensation for this course.
Non-Financial:	Corey Pollard (she/her) has no relevant non-financial relationships to disclose.
Content:	Corey Pollard (she/her) will provide examples from Ascend’s SMARTER Intervention framework. Other similar products will not be discussed.

ASHA

This course is offered for .1 ASHA CEUs, Introductory Level, Professional Area

To earn ASHA CEUs you must complete the courses by viewing them, provide course feedback, pass the exams with a score of 80 or more, provide your ASHA credentials, and confirm submission.

Executive Functioning: The Hidden Foundation of Literacy Success: $29.00
Executive functioning is the hidden foundation of literacy. In this training, you’ll learn how skills like goal setting, regulation, attention, planning, and reflection directly impact students’ ability to read and write. Discover practical strategies for embedding EF into your lessons to build stronger, more independent learners. Includes access to the recorded course and optional ASHA reporting.

Add-ons

Phonological Awareness in Practice: Building the Foundation for Literacy

$29.00

Phonological awareness is the foundation of literacy. In this training, you’ll learn why it matters, which skills have the greatest impact on reading and writing, and how to seamlessly integrate them into your lessons. Walk away with research-based strategies you can use immediately to strengthen decoding, fluency, and spelling. Includes access to the recorded course and optional ASHA reporting.

How to Teach Phonics for Reading and Spelling Success

$29.00

Phonics instruction is more than just sounding out words; it’s the foundation for fluent reading and accurate spelling. In this training, you’ll learn the full phonics progression, see how to apply patterns from sounds to connected text, and walk away with research-based strategies and classroom-ready tools for lasting literacy impact. Includes access to the recorded course and optional ASHA reporting.