Building Deep Thinkers Through Reading: Engaging Students in Robust Comprehension
Deep comprehension goes beyond memorizing facts — it means truly understanding the text well enough to explain it, question it, respond to it, and move beyond superficial understanding.
Let’s teach readers to think deeply. Join us to explore robust comprehension as an active, layered, and dynamic process to synthesize ideas, make inferences, and critique texts – not just recall facts.
- Classroom Teachers K-8
- Interventionists/Specialists
- Literacy Coaches/Teacher Leaders
- Graduate Credit Participants, please see “Graduate Credit Option” tab for pricing information
Robust comprehension is the deep, active, and multilayered understanding of texts that goes beyond surface level, literal comprehension. It involves synthesizing information, making inferences, integrating background knowledge, analyzing, and critiquing to engage with the text’s overall meaning. Across the four days of this institute, you will learn multiple ways to ensure that students are engaged with texts, building vocabulary, and thinking deeply within a community of learners.
Outcomes:
Participants will learn how to:
- Facilitate classroom discussions that invite multiple perspectives and support students’ abilities to build on one another’s ideas leading to deeper understanding of texts
- Examine text sets to build background knowledge and strengthen vocabulary and comprehension
- Identify the characteristics of classroom libraries to ensure the collection is diverse, and reflects the widest range of students’ interests and abilities to support independent reading
- Strengthen students’ reading fluency to deepen comprehension
- Engage students in reading response opportunities to expand their thinking about texts
- Intentionally select and teach vocabulary to strengthen students’ comprehension of text
You’ll earn 24 clock hours for this training or you can register for 2 or 3 graduate credits through Lesley University.
Heather Rodman, Literacy Trainer
Prior to joining the Center for Literacy Teaching and Instructional Leadership as a Primary Trainer, Heather was a Kindergarten, first, second, third, and fourth grade classroom teacher in Middletown, CT for 16 years. She was also a Primary Literacy Coordinator for five years where she provided literacy training and coaching to K-5 teachers. In addition, she was a member of the Connecticut Department of Education Common Core State Standards Curriculum Design Team for English Language Arts.
Linda Murphy, Associate Director, Literacy Programs
Linda has worked in school districts in New York in a variety of roles and settings. Prior to her joining the center at Lesley University, Linda held positions as a principal of an intermediate school, a Director of English Language Arts, Social Studies and Reading, a district trainer for Literacy Collaborative Intermediate, a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader and a classroom teacher. Linda holds licenses in Elementary Education and School District Administration.
Required Materials
- TBD
Cancellation Deadline & Refund Policies
Non-Credit Participants
You have until one week before the first day of this offering to cancel your registration. The cancellation deadline is Monday, July 6, 2026. There is a $50 cancellation fee. If you request a cancellation after the deadline, you will not be issued a refund. Substitution requests are acceptable. Please email centerliteracyteaching@lesley.edu if you have a cancellation or substitution request.
Graduate Credit Participants
Registration Deadline
The registration portal closes at 5pm ET on July 10, 2026. If you register within the week before the start of this training, you may experience delays in receiving the required professional text included with your registration and you may incur additional fees for expedited shipping.
Requirements for Participation
After the training, you will receive a certificate of attendance for your participation. To receive a complete certificate, participation during the specified times is required. Additional work may be assigned to meet the clock hours.
In-Person or Virtual Attendance
You may choose to attend this training in-person at Lesley University or virtually in real time. Should any of the conditions change and it is determined the training will be offered virtually only, you will be notified as soon as possible. We recommend that you contact us before reserving travel and lodging.
If you choose to attend in-person, the training room will have Lesley University’s HyFlex Classroom Technology to support an engaging learning environment for in-person and virtual participants. If you have questions about in-person or virtual attendance, please email us at centerliteracyteaching@lesley.edu.
Graduate Credit Option
With additional assignments, this institute can be taken for 2 or 3 graduate credit hours. During the registration process, you will have the option to register as a Graduate Credit attendee and you will only be charged the graduate credit fee listed below.
When your registration is complete, contact centerliteracyteaching@lesley.edu to finish the required secondary registration process for grad credits through Lesley University.
Course Number: EEDUC 6020-32
PRICING:
- 2 Credits: $1,820 ($875*/credit + $35*/credit comprehensive fee) *subject to change
- 3 Credits: $2,730 ($875*/credit + $35*/credit comprehensive fee) *subject to change
On-Site Professional Development
We can deliver this training to your school/district. This option can be delivered virtually or in-person for a group within your school/district. For detailed costs, complete our online form to request this training for your school/district and we will contact you.
Interested in professional learning at your school or district? Schedule a meeting with one of our faculty trainers
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