The Joyful Reading Summit
Presentation Lineup
Featured Speakers:
Lauralee Moss, language arts classroom
Classroom Libraries on a Budget: Finding, Organizing, and Using Books Effectively
Lauralee Moss is the author of The English Grammar Workbook for Grades 6, 7, & 8 and the creator of the blog Language Arts Classroom. She has taught for over twenty years in Illinois from grades 6-12. Still in the classroom, she shares her ideas as a national speaker with Bureau of Education & Research.
Classroom Libraries on a Budget: Finding, Organizing, and Using Books Effectively: ELA teachers need an assortment of books for a variety of teaching tools. We should not pay top dollar, however! With a few tricks and tips, you can acquire books and resell books for additional discounts.
Lauren Mobley, Mobley in the Mix
Shelf Reflection: Rethinking Representation in Your Library Collection
A self-proclaimed edtech and book nerd, Lauren Mobley is the host of the podcast Library on Lock and a Georgia high school library media specialist. She earned her Ed.S in Instructional Technology from the University of West Georgia, her M.Ed in English Education from Valdosta State University, and her B.A in English Education from the University of Georgia. Mobley is a member of the American Association of School Librarians and the Georgia Library Media Association, where she serves as the annual conference chair. Mobley is committed to improving literacy and education by collaborating with teachers and supporting all students. She believes in and strives to empower student joy, voice, and choice.
Shelf Reflection: Rethinking Representation in Your Library Collection: In this session, we’ll take a reflective (and practical) look at the stories we’re putting on our shelves — whose voices are centered, whose are missing, and how we can move from passive curation to intentional representation. Expect real talk, hands-on tools for auditing your collection, and fresh ideas for making your library a more inclusive, identity-affirming space. Whether you’re new to this work or ready to go deeper, this session offers the space to pause, reflect, and reimagine what your shelves are really saying.
Your Full Roster of Reading Rockstars
Samantha Heil, samantha in secondary
Lit Circles That Stick: Engaging Readers Through Genre Choice
Samantha Heil is a secondary ELA educator, literacy advocate, and the founder of Samantha in Secondary. She hosts the Creating Joyful Readers podcast and organizes the Joyful Reading Summit, where she helps teachers build engaging, student-centered reading experiences. With over 15 years in the classroom, she’s passionate about making reading joyful for both students and educators.
Lit Circles That Stick: Engaging Readers Through Genre Choice: In this session, you’ll learn how to launch meaningful literature circles that actually engage students without the chaos or confusion. We’ll explore how using genre as a hook, offering student choice, and building in purposeful structure can lead to deeper reading, better discussions, and a classroom full of joyful readers.
Lesa Smith, Smith teaches 9 to 12
Adding more poetry and joy to ELA
Lesa has been a high school teacher for 15+ years. She has taught a ton of subjects but English is where her heart is. She loves to share ideas about literature and literacy, and to help you with lesson planning! Basically, her goal is to help everyday English teachers every day!!
She also loves her young daughter, audiobooks on 1.5x, and an endless supply of London Fog lattes.
Adding More Poetry and Joy to ELA: A variety of ways to engage students in poetry that moves beyond a dedicated poetry unit. How to incorporate poetry into any/all units you might teach in secondary. The goal is to make poetry more accessible and less scary, so if you want to tackle a poetry unit your students are ready before it begins so you can all dive deeper and explore even more great poetry. Will include activities and poem suggestions.
MIchele Haiken, The teaching Factor
Engaging Readers with the Power of Podcasts
Michele L. Haiken, Ed.D. is an educator, author, and blogger. She has been teaching for more than 25 years and is passionate about educational technology, literacy, and empowering learners so everyone can reach excellence. She is the co-author of Creative SEL: Using Hands-on Projects to Boost Social-Emotional Learning (ISTE, 2023), and author of New Realms for Writing (ISTE, 2019) and Personalized Reading, Second Edition (NCTE and ISTE, 2024).
Engaging Readers with the Power of Podcasts: Educators will explore how podcasts can be leveraged to engage diverse learners in developing critical literacy skills. Through practical examples and interactive strategies, participants will learn how to integrate podcasts into their curriculum to inspire creativity, enhance listening comprehension, and foster a love of reading for all students.
Laura Daly, Write and Read
Beyond The Reading LOg: Independent reading accountability
Laura Daly is an author and educator with 17 years of experience teaching middle and high school English in a Title I district in the Midwest. She’s married to a middle school history teacher, and together, they have two young boys and two old cats. Currently, Laura is the proud owner of Write and Read, where she creates dynamic and challenging lesson plans for secondary ELA teachers. Her lesson plans can be found in the Write and Read store on Teachers Pay Teachers, and her books can be found on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
Beyond The Reading Log: Independent Reading Accountability: This session focuses on independent reading accountability without the use of reading logs. It explores different accountability options to save time, increase student engagement, or dive into literary analysis.
Lisa Spangler, Mrs. Spangler in the middle
Bridging the Reading Gap: Joyful Strategies to Support Below-Grade-Level Readers
With over 30 years of classroom experience, Mrs. Spangler in the Middle offers practical, engaging strategies to help middle school ELA teachers reach all learners. Known for creating accessible, differentiated, and time-saving resources, she brings real-world solutions that have been tested and proven in her own classroom. As the founder of Spangler Solutions LLC, she shares her expertise through conference presentations, summits, and weekly teaching tips, all rooted in the belief that the right tools can help every student succeed.
Bridging the Reading Gap: Joyful Strategies to Support Below-Grade-Level Readers: When students struggle with reading, it’s easy for frustration to take over—but what if intervention could be engaging, empowering, and even joyful? In this session, we’ll explore practical, research-backed strategies to close reading gaps while keeping students motivated. From scaffolded instruction and interactive small-group activities to high-interest texts and progress-tracking celebrations, you’ll discover how to help below-grade-level readers grow in confidence and skill. Walk away with actionable techniques that make reading accessible, meaningful, and fun—because every student deserves to experience the joy of literacy.
Amanda Hunt, The Next Gen Librarian
Using Graphic Novels to Engage Reluctant Readers
Amanda Hunt is a 6th-8th middle school library media specialist in Texas and the Secondary Lead Librarian for her district. She’s been a school librarian for 15 years at both elementary and secondary campuses and an educator and social worker before that. She was the Texas Association for School Librarians Councilor and is currently on the ALA Council for Education, and the American Association of School Librarians Standards Committee.
Using Graphic Novels to Engage Reluctant Readers: Graphic novels are a dynamic tool for engaging reluctant readers, combining visual storytelling with compelling narratives to make reading more accessible and enjoyable. Their diverse themes, relatable characters, and visually driven format help build comprehension skills and confidence in struggling readers. By incorporating graphic novels into the curriculum, educators can foster a love for reading and bridge the gap between visual literacy and traditional text.
Katie Sain, Hello Tennessee Teacher
Using choice boards to get students engaged in reading
Katie Sain has spent 6 years in the middle school ELA and ESL classrooms focused on scaffolding reading and writing to meet the needs of all learners! She spent a great deal of time working with all teachers in her school building learn how to scaffold curriculum for their students, whether they were advanced, lower-level, or English language learners. Currently, she is a full time tutor, curriculum writer, and stay at home mom with my baby girl. She is still focused on scaffolding reading and writing for all learners, but it looks a little different until she goes back into the classroom in a few short years.
Using choice boards to get students engaged in reading: Strategies and choice boards for the classroom to help students enjoy reading. They can be used regularly for short passages, but they can apply to books too.
Kara Rubino, Riley Reads YA
Managing student behavior during independent reading
Hi! I’m Kara Rubino, the CT teacher behind Riley Reads YA. What started as a bulletin board in my classroom with pictures of my dog Riley and me reading awesome middle grade books progressed into a blog and TpT shop dedicated to sharing the best titles and strategies to convert reluctant readers into eager ones. In the last six years, I have had the pleasure of helping hundreds of teachers develop strong independent reading programs in their classrooms, even after years of struggling, and I want to help you do the same.
Managing student behavior during independent reading: No one talks about how tricky it can be to create an environment conducive to silent reading! I will break down the most effective strategies for keeping students focused while still maintaining quality relationships with students and fostering a love for reading.
Carolyn wahl, Middle school cafe
Book Talks That Work: Simple Routines to Build a Reading Culture
Carolyn Wahl is the educator behind Middle School Café, a trusted voice in middle school ELA and Social Studies. With over 25 years of classroom experience, Carolyn has taught a wide range of subjects but found her true passion in middle school English Language Arts. For the past decade, she has worked to build student confidence in reading by promoting choice, using consistent routines, and teaching skills in ways that make reading feel accessible—not overwhelming.
Book Talks That Work: Simple Routines to Build a Reading Culture: Book talks are a simple but powerful way to get students excited about reading. They help kids discover new books, explore different genres, and build a reading community in the classroom. In this session, we’ll talk about how to make book talks (both teacher and student) engaging, low-pressure, and a regular part of your routine to spark curiosity and get students picking up books they might not have considered before.
allison mcmanus, mrs mcmanus ELA
Ditch the Comprehension Strategies: Using Research to Actually TEACH Comprehension
Allison is a secondary ELA teacher and blogger passionate about bringing the Science of Reading research into real world middle and high school classrooms. She focuses on practical, Tier 1 strategies and classroom ideas that help teenagers become stronger readers by making the reading instruction more effective and accessible for older students. Allison strives to support teachers with research-based tools and structures to help reach the goal of every student reading grade-level texts.
Ditch the Comprehension Strategies: Using Research to Actually TEACH Comprehension: I’m not saying comprehension strategies don’t work BUT if the student doesn’t know how to read, they’re not going to help. There IS a science to reading and we can absolutely teach them how to do it without having to rely on previewing, visualizing, and all of those graphic organizers!
Katie Saj, Mochas and markbooks
Classroom Transformations for High School Book Tastings
Katie Saj has worked as a high school English teacher for 18 years at an Indigenous high school in the Treaty 5 and Treaty 9 areas of Northern Ontario, Canada. With a Reading Specialist and qualifications in Alternative and Special Education she has become an expert at interpreting the curriculum to make it meaningful and memorable by taking a holistic approach to teaching and believing that every student can achieve success. Katie has worked as a school Literacy Lead, educational consultant and curriculum writer. She is the founder of Mochas and Markbooks and Mila Belle Creative Co.
Classroom Transformations for High School Book Tastings: This session will discuss how to plan and facilitate book tastings at the high school level including room transformation ideas, themes, and big-kid buy-in. I will talk about my experiences using coffee shop and ice cream parlour themed book tastings and how they help to expose students to new books, engage reluctant readers by piquing their interest, and providing an engaging and memorable kick-off to any book club, literature circle, or independent study.
Jeanmarie McLaughlin, mclaughlin teaches english
Building Skills Based Literature Circles
Jeanmarie McLaughlin is a 30-year veteran high school English teacher, wife and mom to two teenagers. She has experience teaching all levels of high school English. She currently teaches AP® English Literature, AP® English Language and ICT English 11. She is a curriculum designer for the upper levels of high school English and the founder and creative mind behind the Pencils and Prologues Membership for High School English teachers which provides busy teachers with a library skills-based and theme-based curriculum. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, embroidery and crochet.
Building Skills Based Literature Circles: This is a framework that I have honed over the last few years to ground literature circles in skills and short texts. This works especially well with older, more advanced students.
julia cafaro, Around the World With Mrs. C
We Listen and We Don't Judge- Creating a Safe Place for Free Choice Reading
Julia Cafaro is a high school English teacher, curriculum designer, and founder of Around the World With Mrs. C, where she supports educators with engaging World Literature and Mythology resources. Passionate about student choice and inclusive storytelling, she helps students discover the joy of reading and the power of their own voice. Through her classroom, blog, and professional development work, Julia empowers teachers and students alike to connect with diverse texts and meaningful learning.
We Listen and We Don’t Judge- Creating a Safe Place for Free Choice Reading: In my classroom, we always spent the first 8-10 minutes everyday doing our independent reading. I was able to build this by allowing students to truly read whatever they wanted (as long as it wasn’t harmful) and building a culture of reading for pleasure. I will share all the ways I did this and got kids who hadn’t read a single book in years into veracious readers.
Danielle Hicks, English Classroom Architect
The Fandom Effect: Using Pop Culture to Ignite a Love for Reading
Danielle Hicks is a high school English teacher, curriculum writer, and coach who’s passionate about reimagining what’s possible in the ELA classroom. She believes that English teachers are the architects of change and is committed to helping educators create spaces where students thrive as readers, writers, and thinkers. Through her platform, English Classroom Architect, she empowers teachers to lead with purpose and possibility.
The Fandom Effect: Using Pop Culture to Ignite a Love for Reading: Students who say they “hate reading” will analyze conspiracy threads, binge fanfiction, and dissect pop lyrics for hidden meanings—so the issue isn’t reading, it’s engagement. This session explores how to harness the psychology of fandoms and pop culture analysis to create immersive, curiosity-driven reading experiences. Teachers will walk away with concrete strategies to hook students on any text, tap into their natural analytical instincts, and transform reading into something they want to do.
Samantha Green, secondary urban legends
Keep it Simple Small Group Instruction
With over 15 years of experience in secondary education, Samantha is a dedicated English and Reading teacher turned instructional coach and professional development specialist. Her career has been rooted in a deep commitment to improving student outcomes, teacher growth, and the transformative power of literature. She has worked closely with educators to elevate instructional practices and foster inclusive, literacy-rich environments. A passionate advocate for diverse books and authentic reading experiences, she believes every student deserves to see themselves—and others—reflected in classroom spaces including books. Her mission is to cultivate a lifelong love of reading in every classroom she touches.
Keep it Simple Small Group Instruction: Suggestions to simplify, structure, and support teachers as they implement intervention.
bobbie vaden
How to Encourage Reading in a Screen-Obsessed Generation
Bobbie Vaden’s journey through education has taken her across five states, where she has taught English Language Arts (ELA) and social studies. Her passion for learning led her to also serve as both a school librarian and a principal for K-8 schools. After retiring, she shared her love for language by volunteering throughout Asia and Europe, helping students and teachers enhance their conversational English skills.
How to Encourage Reading in a Screen-obsessed Generation: Students who dislike reading respond to high-interest informational topics. Age-appropriate nonfiction, delivered within integrated content such as social studies and science, provides fertile ground for embedded academic and subject-specific vocabulary, thus strengthening acquisition and retention.
Jessica Hedaria
Diverse Dystopia: a multicultural approach to engage all readers
Jess Hedaria is a middle school teacher and nationally award winning Yearbook adviser. She received her Masters of Education with a specialty in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education, her CJE from the Journalism Education Association, and her undergraduate from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has built inclusive curriculum that is sustainable and equitable for all students and is a firm believer that graphic novels are valued and rigorous reading. She is also a writer and avid reader who loves sharing her love of reading with her students.
Diverse Dystopia: This session is focused on looking at the Dystopia genre and finding diverse texts to boost the unit. Having conversations around how to use diverse texts to best meet the needs of each teacher’s individual situations; whether a teacher can do whole class novels, literature circle choice novels, or supplemental materials to add to an existing novel unit. This session will bring ready-to-use resources, thinking points, curated lists, and lesson topics to pair classic titles with diverse contemporary titles.