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Learn to Read

An Invitation to Rethink: What Research Says About Syllables 

March 6, 2026 Nikki Drury, Literacy Trainer

As literacy educators, we must think carefully about cognitive load, instructional payoff, and how word-solving strategies impact readers’ fluency and comprehension. If a strategy requires a lot of mental effort but works inconsistently, it’s worth asking whether it truly supports readers.

Tags: Teaching

Season’s Readings: 2025 December Holiday Books 

December 12, 2025 Nikki Drury, Literacy Trainer

The holiday season is a wonderful time to spark joy, build community, and celebrate some of the traditions your students bring into the classroom.

Tags: Teaching

Timing is Everything: Moving from the Writer’s Notebook to Draft Paper

November 6, 2025 Nikki Drury, Literacy Trainer

How do you know when to move from the writer’s notebook to draft paper? The writer’s notebook is the heart of a writer’s daily life. Just like gardeners plant seeds without knowing which ones will flourish, writers collect ideas.

Tags: Teaching

Reading to Learn While Learning to Read

August 1, 2025 Nikki Drury, Literacy Trainer

Is it reading to learn or learning to read? In reality, these two processes develop together, not one after the other. As children are learning how print works, they are also learning from what they read. They are making sense of language.

Tags: Teaching

Upcoming Professional Development

July 13 – September 6, 2026 (Summer Term II)

Effective Reading Instruction: Community & Practice, K-8

In this 8-week online course for grades 3-8 teachers, learn the purpose, organization, and structure of a readers’ workshop.

$2,730 ($875/credit + $35/credit comprehensive fee) + required texts
July 13-16, 2026

Building Deep Thinkers Through Reading: Engaging Students in Robust Comprehension

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.

$895 (includes professional text)
July 1-2, 2026

Wondrous Words: Igniting Children’s Passion, Purpose, and Skills for Writing

Join us for this two-day, hands-on workshop where you’ll strengthen your ability to read like a writer and learn how to use mentor texts to help students expand their repertoire of craft moves, grow their identities as writers, and deepen their understanding of writing as a meaningful act.

$595 (Text Included)

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