School of Education
Phonics Requirement
As of July 1, 1998, the State of Wisconsin requires that all persons seeking initial and renewal licenses to teach reading or language arts in grades Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 6 (PK-6) must have successfully completed instruction in teaching reading and language arts using appropriate instructional methods, including phonics. "Phonics" means a method of teaching beginners to read and pronounce words by learning the phonetic value of letters, letter groups and syllables.
The Phonics requirement applies to students completing Elementary Education and Special Education certification programs. UW-Madison students fulfill this requirement through the successful completion of courses that are already required (Curric 305, 368, 500, or RP&SE 489 and 403), so no additional course work is needed to meet this statutory requirement.