Free Resources
Take a peek at the range of practical solutions that Engaging Learners offers!
Teachers, download a valuable activity, reading list, classroom strategy, or teacher tip. All activities can easily be adapted to any classroom model. This is a great way to sample materials from my Hands-On Grammar and Literacy & Learning Centers books. And don’t be surprised if I share a few Science of Reading comprehension strategies, too!
Visit every week and collect them all!
Check out these free Topic-Specific sample resources.
Tip: Depending on your browser settings, these free resources may immediately and automatically download to your device when you click the button. Can’t find it? Check your desktop, downloads, documents, or files folders.
SCIENCE OF READING PODCAST
The Science of Reading for Grades 4-12 with Katie & Jen
Check out the FREE Science of Reading Podcast for grades 4-12! Your hosts, Dr. Katie McKnight and Dr. Jenny French created this podcast especially for 4th–12th grade teachers, literacy coaches, and school leaders who need information, tools and resources to grow their students’ literacy achievement.
Click here to learn more.
SELECT INTERVIEWS, PRESENTATIONS & WEBINARS
Reading SOS: What About Secondary Students Who Can't Read?
Hosted by Schoolin’ Around | Branching Minds - Presented live on April 2, 2024
In this conversation Larissa Napolitan and Dr. Katherine McKnight discuss the challenges and trends in secondary students' literacy. The conversation includes the importance of higher-level questioning and deep comprehension skills, and highlights the need for a clearly defined literacy plan and professional development for teachers.
Click here to listen.
Key Ingredients for Building a Successful Reading Intervention Program
Hosted by ThinkCERCA | Presented live on January 25, 2024
Join Dr. Katie McKnight and Dr. Jenny French to learn how to build a program that really works! Topics include how to take first steps with identifying students through data and assessments , strategies that work to shift culture and existing stigma, one school's successful model , taking next steps, scheduling, funding, and more!
Click here to view a recording. Click here to download hand outs.
Closing the Implementation Gap
ThinkCERCA Leadership Institute | Presented live on July 24, 2023
Check out the school leadership professional development event. that Eileen Murphy described as “Practical, turnkey resources that actually increase outcomes and engagement AND save teachers time...who could ask for anything more? We love Dr. McKnight and her kitchen-tested recipes for success!”
Click here to view a recording.
Science of Reading in Grades 6-12
ThinkCERCA’s Boardroom to Classroom Webinar Series | Presented live April 14, 2023 (Part 1) and May 24, 2023 (Part 2)
Part 1 - Dr. Katie McKnight and Eileen Murphy, founder and CEO of ThinkCERCA, take viewers to the Boardroom, offering big-picture topical understanding, theory, and research for leaders and their stakeholder communities.
Part 2 - “Do This, Not That” - offers tactical approaches to the same topic at the school-level for principals, coaches, and teachers.
Click here to view a recording.
ThinkCERCA’s Reading And The Brain Webinar Series
Hosted by ThinkCERCA | Presented live on November 17, 2023 (Part 1) and December 5, 2023 (Part 2)
Dr. Katie McKnight and Dr. Jenny French
Part 1 - What does the middle and high schooler brain look like as it’s learning to read?
Part 2 - As the adolescent mind builds learning highways through reading, how can we create instructional strategies to engage and foster reading confidence?
Click here to view a recording.
Texas STAAR Redesign: Constructed Response Readiness
Educational Resource Company Short, Short, BIG! Author Series
Led by subject matter experts Alan Sitomer and Dr. Katie McKnight, this webinar provides unique and engaging strategies and resources to help students tackle extended constructed response questions and essays similar to those found on the redesigned STAAR (State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness) tests. Learn about the deep links between effective reading and writing and discover how the redesign emphasizes this interconnectedness. When students practice writing using evidence from their reading, it isn't just about preparing for exams. It's about molding holistic learners, critical thinkers, and articulate communicators. Katie and Alan share practical strategies to take the ambiguity out of evidence-based reading and writing. Your students will be better prepared for success.
Click here to view a recording.
SELECT PUBLISHED ARTICLES
Creating Literacy Peace: All Text is Important for Developing Readers – Coauthored with LeAnn Nickelsen in the July 2021 issue of InterACT.
“Most of us who work with K-12 learners recognize that the answer is: Surprise! There is no one best way to teach reading.”
““Our experience indicates that a combination - or balance - of strategies and methods produce the best results.”
Click here to read the article.
EdWeek Market Report – June 2024
EdWeek Market Report indicates that within the next two years, the “Science of Reading Will Take Hold in Upper Grades.” Engaging Learners’ own Dr. Katie McKnight is quoted on page 26 of the report. Click here to see it.
Read more about the report here and become an EdWeek Market Report member to download their full report.
Confidence Breeds Success, Success Breeds Confidence – Coauthored with Dr. Richard M. Cash. Published December 6, 2021 on the School Rubric website.
Reading: The Foundation for ALL Learning – Published October 18, 2021 on the School Rubric website.
College, Career and “The Test” – Published September 20, 2021 on the School Rubric website.
What Makes Adolescent Reading Different? – Published August 28, 2021 on the School Rubric website.
DIFFERENTIATED READING LISTS
The Literacy & Learning Center model requires you to divide your students into small groups. Katie recommends that you group students not based on ability, but based on the texts they choose. In other words, each student selects the text that most interests him/her, and is placed in a group with the other students who picked the same text. This doesn’t mean anything goes! The teacher or curriculum director should supply a selection of texts that all address the same basic literary themes, cover the same content, or address the same essential question.
Here are some correlated reading lists for primary grade teachers:
How can you get all these books for your classroom without breaking the bank? We highly recommend Bulk Bookstore for purchasing books! Click here.to learn more about Bulk Bookstore or to make a purchase.
Subscribe to our newsletter!
About once a week I email a newsletter to like-minded teachers and school administrators. Consider subscribing. It’s an ideal option for busy educators who want to stay in-the-know about upcoming presentations, webinars, book releases, and latest research by me and the rest of my team. Plus it’s the surest way to guarantee you won’t miss access to FREE live webinars, podcasts and broadcasts, as well as plenty of sample give-aways! You always have the option to unsubscribe if you don’t find it to be useful.
FREE RECORDINGS OF SELECT ARCHIVED WEBINARS
Coffee with Katie and Richard: Setting Up Your Classroom for Productive Learning | Saddleback Educational Publishing | Katie McKnight and Richard Cash, July 2022
Coffee with Katie and Richard: Making Grade-Level Text Accessible (Grades 4–12) | Saddleback Educational Publishing | Katie McKnight and Richard Cash, May 2022
Literacy & Learning Centers for the Big Kids (Grades 4-12) | Leading Change, Teachers' Institute, & School Counselors' Institute, March 2022
Teens Love to Argue: Teaching Evidence-Based Writing in the Disciplines/Content Areas (Grade 5–12) | Saddleback Educational Publishing | January 2022
Encouraging Critical and Creative Thinking Through Reading, Writing, and Speaking | Saddleback Educational Publishing | Katie McKnight and Richard Cash, September 2021
The Inclusive Literacy Classroom: What Is It Exactly, and How to Build It | Saddleback Educational Publishing, March 2021
Steps Toward Standards Skills Based Grading | July 2018
Differentiating Texts to Create Rigor & Relevance for All Readers (Grade 4-12) | September 2017
Growth Mindset and Literacy Achievement | Katie McKnight and Richard Cash, October 2017
