About the store
For nearly two decades, Smekens Education has been providing professional development to K-12 teachers that focuses on practical ways to achieve best-practice instruction in reading and writing.
The training team at Smekens Education is passionate about delivering instruction that is both dynamic and engaging. Our K-12 literacy consultants use short, high-impact mini-lessons to deliver instruction that is narrow and skill-specific. To make whole-class mini-lessons even more powerful, we encourage teachers to use "trigger objects" such as toys and household items to help convey key points and concepts.
Teachers who participate in professional development led by Smekens Education consistently give rave reviews.
"I always feel so excited and re-energized by Kristina—we call it being 'Smekenized.' Always feel like—well, duh! She makes complex seem simple and manageable. I LOVE reading strategies set up like 6 Traits that has been SO successful for my students!" M. Champion
"Courtney (Gordon) is very energetic, knowledgeable, and is sincerely interested in seeing us succeed! As a new teacher, I can appreciate and am inspired by her enthusiasm!" B. Manis
"Kristi (McCullough's) passion and love of teaching is contagious! You will come away with renewed energy and many strategies you are excited to try out in your own classroom." L. Summers
"Shona (Lansdell) is a wealth of information. Her sessions are fast-paced and upbeat. If she doesn't know the answer to something, she will find out. I always look forward to sessions with her!" A Wolfe
"Wow! I am so excited to teach writing this year! Rachel (Remenschneider) has an amazing presentation style that kept us engaged throughout the day!" J. McCarthy
"Wonderful presentation that pulled me to think about writing in a different way given the skill level of my students. Thank you, Didi (Harris)." F. Adkins
"Holly (Sluyter) was great at presenting the information and talking with us and not down to us. I felt respected as a fellow educator. She was engaging and relevant." D. Miller
The literacy consultants from Smekens Education have diverse teaching backgrounds, including classroom experience working with kindergartners, seniors, and every grade in between.
The president and lead consultant for Smekens Education is Kristina Smekens. Kristina is a popular speaker and author who works with K-12 teachers sharing practical strategies for teaching writing, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development. She is a certified 6-Traits trainer and author of several books, including Launching the Writer's Workshop, The Trait Mate; 6-Traits Starter Lessons,and the Writing Parent Pack. Her presentations throughout the Midwest and elsewhere have helped to motivate teachers for almost two decards.
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Fluency: Hearing Punctuation
Before students write using punctuation marks purposefully, they need to see the power of them within their reading.
Students tend to read right through punctuation marks, never stopping, pausing, or taking a breath. If students don’t adjust their voices to “read” punctuation marks, they will omit them from their writing, too.
Kristina Smekens offers a sequential list of mini-lesson ideas and activities to demonstrate the power of punctuation in reading.
This product includes:
• 10 mini-l
K - 6th
English Language Arts, Reading, Writing
CCSS
RF.1.1a
, RF.1.4b
, RF.2.4b
+3
Idiom Costume Ideas: Elementary
Help students understand the meaning behind figurative language—specifically idioms—with a costume party! Begin with explanations of the literal and figurative meaning of idioms. Continue instruction with lessons on author purpose and written response practice. Culminate the unit of study with an idiom costume party.
This product includes:
• Suggested sequence of lessons to introduce and teach idiomatic phrases & meanings
• Idiom examples with idiomatic meaning & sample sentences
• Parent le
3rd - 5th
English Language Arts, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS
L.4.5b
, CCRA.R.4
, CCRA.L.5
6 Traits of Writing Icons & Posters
If you want to take the mystery out of what “good” writing includes, introduce your students to the 6 Traits of Writing. Then help your students remember the traits and what they mean with Smekens Education's original 6-Traits icons. The six visual triggers represent each of the traits and act as object lessons to demonstrate the main trait focus. Using the icons layers your presentation of the writing traits. Students don’t just hear the words, they see the concept of each trait as it is portra
PreK - 12th
English Language Arts, Writing
Reader Interest Inventory: 3-5
Use Reader Interest Inventories to get to know your students better as readers. Knowing more about what your students like will help you determine what they might like to read. Taking time to do Interest Inventories is an investment that will pay dividends later, especially for the struggling readers who often believe there isn’t anything they would enjoy reading.
This product includes the 2-page Grades 3-5 Reader Interest Inventory. (Also available for Grades K-2 and Grades 6-12)
Reader Inter
3rd - 5th
English Language Arts, Reading
6-Traits Picture Book Recommendations
Picture books are perfect for introducing the 6-Traits to students. But what books are best for each trait?
Kristina Smekens created a list of her favorite picture books for each trait for Grades K-1, 2-5, and 6-12. The PDF listing includes hot links, allowing access to a short summary and item description for each book at the TheLiteracyStore.com. Use the books to introduce the traits and as mentor texts in mini-lessons throughout the year for 6-Trait instruction.
This product includes:
• A
K - 12th
English Language Arts, Writing
CCSS
CCRA.W.4
Reading Stamina Timer Grades 1-2
At the beginning of the year, students aren’t ready to read for long stretches of time. Teachers have to help them build their ability to read independently little by little.
Nadine Gilkison, Digital Resource Designer for Smekens Education, created PowerPoint slideshows to help students develop just that—reading stamina! Engaging images display minutes of work while students strive to stretch out their independent reading time. As the slides mark the time, students (and teachers) can see at a
1st - 2nd
English Language Arts, Reading, Reading Strategies
The 6 Traits in the Writing Process Poster Set
To help students successfully negotiate their way through the writing process, demonstrate how the 6 Traits of Writing fit within each stage (pre-write, draft, revise, edit, and publish). Based on the Common Core requirements for writing, this poster set highlights the “trump traits” for each part of the process.
This product includes:
• An introductory page
• Six 8.5. x 11” PDF posters of writing process stages, each with an introductory explanation page:
o Pre-write (Ideas & Organization)
K - 12th
English Language Arts, Writing
Idiom Costume Ideas: Middle School
Help students understand the meaning behind figurative language—specifically idioms—with a costume party! Begin with explanations of the literal and figurative meaning of idioms. Continue instruction with lessons on author purpose and written response practice. Culminate the unit of study with an idiom costume party.
This product includes:
• Suggested sequence of lessons to introduce and teach idiomatic phrases & meanings
• Idiom examples with idiomatic meaning & sample sentences
• Parent le
6th - 8th
English Language Arts, Reading, Reading Strategies
CCSS
CCRA.R.4
, CCRA.L.5
Reading Stamina Timer: Grades 3-6
At the beginning of the year, students aren’t ready to read for long stretches of time. Teachers have to help them build their ability to read independently little by little.
Nadine Gilkison, Digital Resource Designer for Smekens Education, created PowerPoint slideshows to help students develop just that—reading stamina! Engaging images display minutes of work while students strive to stretch out their independent reading time. As the slides mark the time, students (and teachers) can see at a
3rd - 6th
English Language Arts, Reading, Reading Strategies
Reader Interest Inventory: 6-12
Use Reader Interest Inventories to get to know your students better as readers. Knowing more about what your students like will help you determine what they might like to read. Taking time to do Interest Inventories is an investment that will pay dividends later, especially for the struggling readers who often believe there isn’t anything they would enjoy reading.
This product includes the 2-page Grades 6-12 Reader Interest Inventory. (Also available for Grades K-2 and Grades 3-5)
Reader Inter
6th - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading
Reader Interest Inventory: K-2
Use Reader Interest Inventories to get to know your students better as readers. Knowing more about what your students like will help you determine what they might like to read. Taking time to do Interest Inventories is an investment that will pay dividends later, especially for the struggling readers who often believe there isn’t anything they would enjoy reading.
This product includes the 2-page Grades K-2 Reader Interest Inventory. (Also available for Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-12.)
Smekens Ed
K - 2nd
English Language Arts, Reading
WordMarks: Bookmarks for Words
Utilize WordMarks to help students apply “context clues” when they come across an unfamiliar word in their reading. Provide each student a copy of the WordMark bookmark.
While reading, as the student encounters a new word, he jots down the term and page number it appeared on.
Then, on the remaining lines, the student writes down what he thinks the word means. He applies his background knowledge and makes a prediction about what would make sense.
This is a great strategy to promote the use of
K - 12th
English Language Arts, Reading, Vocabulary
CCSS
CCRA.L.4
Showing 1-12 of 12 results
About the store
Experience
For nearly two decades, Smekens Education has been providing professional development to K-12 teachers that focuses on practical ways to achieve best-practice instruction in reading and writing.
The training team at Smekens Education is passionate about delivering instruction that is both dynamic and engaging. Our K-12 literacy consultants use short, high-impact mini-lessons to deliver instruction that is narrow and skill-specific. To make whole-class mini-lessons even more powerful, we encourage teachers to use "trigger objects" such as toys and household items to help convey key points and concepts.
Teachers who participate in professional development led by Smekens Education consistently give rave reviews.
"I always feel so excited and re-energized by Kristina—we call it being 'Smekenized.' Always feel like—well, duh! She makes complex seem simple and manageable. I LOVE reading strategies set up like 6 Traits that has been SO successful for my students!" M. Champion
"Courtney (Gordon) is very energetic, knowledgeable, and is sincerely interested in seeing us succeed! As a new teacher, I can appreciate and am inspired by her enthusiasm!" B. Manis
"Kristi (McCullough's) passion and love of teaching is contagious! You will come away with renewed energy and many strategies you are excited to try out in your own classroom." L. Summers
"Shona (Lansdell) is a wealth of information. Her sessions are fast-paced and upbeat. If she doesn't know the answer to something, she will find out. I always look forward to sessions with her!" A Wolfe
"Wow! I am so excited to teach writing this year! Rachel (Remenschneider) has an amazing presentation style that kept us engaged throughout the day!" J. McCarthy
"Wonderful presentation that pulled me to think about writing in a different way given the skill level of my students. Thank you, Didi (Harris)." F. Adkins
"Holly (Sluyter) was great at presenting the information and talking with us and not down to us. I felt respected as a fellow educator. She was engaging and relevant." D. Miller
The literacy consultants from Smekens Education have diverse teaching backgrounds, including classroom experience working with kindergartners, seniors, and every grade in between.
The president and lead consultant for Smekens Education is Kristina Smekens. Kristina is a popular speaker and author who works with K-12 teachers sharing practical strategies for teaching writing, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development. She is a certified 6-Traits trainer and author of several books, including Launching the Writer's Workshop, The Trait Mate; 6-Traits Starter Lessons,and the Writing Parent Pack. Her presentations throughout the Midwest and elsewhere have helped to motivate teachers for almost two decards.
Teaching style
The training team at Smekens Education is passionate about delivering instruction that is both dynamic and engaging. Our K-12 literacy consultants use short, high-impact mini-lessons to deliver instruction that is narrow and skill-specific. To make whole-class mini-lessons even more powerful, we encourage teachers to use "trigger objects" such as toys and household items to help convey key points and concepts.
Awards & shining teacher moments
Teachers who participate in professional development led by Smekens Education consistently give rave reviews.
"I always feel so excited and re-energized by Kristina—we call it being 'Smekenized.' Always feel like—well, duh! She makes complex seem simple and manageable. I LOVE reading strategies set up like 6 Traits that has been SO successful for my students!" M. Champion
"Courtney (Gordon) is very energetic, knowledgeable, and is sincerely interested in seeing us succeed! As a new teacher, I can appreciate and am inspired by her enthusiasm!" B. Manis
"Kristi (McCullough's) passion and love of teaching is contagious! You will come away with renewed energy and many strategies you are excited to try out in your own classroom." L. Summers
My own education history
The literacy consultants from Smekens Education have diverse teaching backgrounds, including classroom experience working with kindergartners, seniors, and every grade in between.
The president and lead consultant for Smekens Education is Kristina Smekens. Kristina is a popular speaker and author who works with K-12 teachers sharing practical strategies for teaching writing, reading comprehension, and vocabulary development. She is a certified 6-Traits trainer and author of several books, including Launching the Writer's Workshop, The Trait Mate; 6-Traits Starter Lessons, and the Writing Parent Pack. Her presentations throughout the Midwest and elsewhere have helped to motivate teachers for almost two decades.
Additional biographical information
For nearly two decades, Smekens Education has been providing professional development to K-12 teachers that focuses on practical ways to achieve best-practice instruction in reading and writing.
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