Date:     February 19, 2025       
Time:     9:00am – 3:00pm 
Type:     In-Person

Location: WRESA   
          200 Ridgefield Ct, Suite 206
          Asheville, NC 28806

Fee:      $45  WRESA Members  
          
**NOTE: We have a No Refund policy for our WRESA courses. However, you
are welcome to send a colleague in your place. Contact LaDonna Sluder at
lsluder@wresa.org or 828-774-5681 (ext 102) if you need to change the 
name of the person attending.

CEUs:     5 Contact Hours 
Audience: K-5 Administrators, Classroom Teachers, and Coaches    

Description:

Comprehension, whether through reading or listening, is a complex and

multidimensional process. It involves the integration of various skills,

processes, and sources of knowledge. A knowledgeable educator understands

comprehension and the importance of vocabulary, sentence structure, and

background knowledge. This includes aspects such as text structure, inference,

and comprehension monitoring, all of which contribute to making meaning.

Let’s examine how this understanding can shape an instructional blueprint

based on scientific principles for effective teaching. This framework helps

educators identify key literacy skills, select suitable readings, and implement

essential routines and strategies to promote a deep understanding of the text and

enhance knowledge acquisition.

Together, we will discuss the following:

•  The complexity of and contributors to reading comprehension
•  The components of the Blueprint for Reading Comprehension
• Model unit & lesson plans and instructional routines, strategies & activities for each contributor
•  Current practices & possibilities for enriching/differentiating instruction

Presenter: Nancy Hennessy is an experienced educator who currently works

as a literacy consultant. She has designed and delivered multiple virtual and live

professional learning events on the science of reading, structured literacy & dyslexia.

Most recently, reading comprehension has been her focus.

Nancy is the author of the book, The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping

Students Make Meaning of Text and recently, co-authored a companion text, The

Reading Comprehension Activity Book: A Practice & Planning Guide for Teachers

with Julia Salamone. Nancy has also written the chapter, Working with Word

Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction, in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Skills (4th

edition). While serving as a national trainer for Language Essentials for Teachers of

Reading and Spelling, she co-authored LETRS, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text

comprehension (2nd edition) with Louisa Moats.

Nancy is the past president of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and has

served as the vice-president of the North Carolina Branch of IDA. In 2011, Nancy

received the International Dyslexia Association’s Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime

Achievement Award & was recently honored with the North Carolina Department of

Public Instruction’s 2023 Impact Award.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at csellers@wresa.org

Date:     February 19, 2025       
Time:     9:00am – 3:00pm 
Type:     In-Person

Location: WRESA   
          200 Ridgefield Ct, Suite 206
          Asheville, NC 28806

Fee:      $70  Non-members  
          
**NOTE: We have a No Refund policy for our WRESA courses. However, you
are welcome to send a colleague in your place. Contact LaDonna Sluder at
lsluder@wresa.org or 828-774-5681 (ext 102) if you need to change the 
name of the person attending.

CEUs:     5 Contact Hours 
Audience: K-5 Administrators, Classroom Teachers, and Coaches    

Description:

Comprehension, whether through reading or listening, is a complex and

multidimensional process. It involves the integration of various skills,

processes, and sources of knowledge. A knowledgeable educator understands

comprehension and the importance of vocabulary, sentence structure, and

background knowledge. This includes aspects such as text structure, inference,

and comprehension monitoring, all of which contribute to making meaning.

Let’s examine how this understanding can shape an instructional blueprint

based on scientific principles for effective teaching. This framework helps

educators identify key literacy skills, select suitable readings, and implement

essential routines and strategies to promote a deep understanding of the text and

enhance knowledge acquisition.

Together, we will discuss the following:

•  The complexity of and contributors to reading comprehension
•  The components of the Blueprint for Reading Comprehension
•  Model unit & lesson plans and instructional routines, strategies & activities for each contributor
•  Current practices & possibilities for enriching/differentiating instruction

Presenter: Nancy Hennessy is an experienced educator who currently works

as a literacy consultant. She has designed and delivered multiple virtual and live

professional learning events on the science of reading, structured literacy & dyslexia.

Most recently, reading comprehension has been her focus.

Nancy is the author of the book, The Reading Comprehension Blueprint: Helping

Students Make Meaning of Text and recently, co-authored a companion text, The

Reading Comprehension Activity Book: A Practice & Planning Guide for Teachers

with Julia Salamone. Nancy has also written the chapter, Working with Word

Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction, in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Skills (4th

edition). While serving as a national trainer for Language Essentials for Teachers of

Reading and Spelling, she co-authored LETRS, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text

comprehension (2nd edition) with Louisa Moats.

Nancy is the past president of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and has

served as the vice-president of the North Carolina Branch of IDA. In 2011, Nancy

received the International Dyslexia Association’s Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime

Achievement Award & was recently honored with the North Carolina Department of

Public Instruction’s 2023 Impact Award.

If you have additional questions, contact Candie Sellers at csellers@wresa.org