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«Back to all edWebinarsHow to Incorporate Reading Full Books in ELA Classrooms, and Why
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST
Presented by Freda Shatara, First Grade Teacher, Ann Arbor Public Schools (MI); Lorraine Griffith, Former Teacher, Current Senior Director, Content Architect, Great Minds; and Melissa Loftus, Former Teacher, Current Lead Curriculum Developer, Great Minds
Sponsored by Great Minds
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In many classrooms, language arts instruction focuses on short passages. But research shows that students stay more engaged, build reading stamina, and deepen comprehension when they read full books.
In this edWebinar, Lorraine Griffith, Senior Director of Content Architecture at Great Minds, Melissa Loftus, Lead Curriculum Developer at Great Minds and co-host of the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast, and Freda Shatara, First Grade Teacher at Ann Arbor Public Schools (MI), will share:
- Ready-to-use ideas for choosing books and pacing lessons over time
- Ways to give support without interrupting the flow of reading
- Solutions to common challenges, such as limited time, pacing across a full book, and meeting the needs of diverse learners
Attendees will see examples from picture books and longer texts. They will also receive classroom-ready discussion and question prompts for two picture books. By the end of this edWebinar, attendees will be able to:
- Use teaching moves that boost engagement and motivation to read
- Connect reading full books to improved comprehension and writing
- Plan discussions and text-based questions that help students make inferences, connect ideas, and use evidence
- Explain how reading complete texts builds stamina and confidence
- Choose texts and supports that help all students succeed
This edWebinar will be of interest to K-12 teachers, librarians, school leaders, and district leaders.
About the Presenters
Freda Shatara is a first-grade teacher in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with 10 years of experience supporting young learners. She earned her undergraduate degree in early childhood and elementary education and holds two master’s degrees—one in bilingual and bicultural education and another in curriculum and instruction. Freda is currently in her second year teaching with a Great Minds ELA curriculum, where she focuses on engaging students in reading full, meaningful texts. She is passionate about building strong literacy foundations, supporting multilingual learners, and creating inclusive classroom environments that honor students’ identities. Freda enjoys collaborating with other educators and sharing practical insights from her classroom experience to support thoughtful, effective instruction.
Lorraine Griffith serves as the Senior Director, Content Architect at Great Minds. She shapes the vision of the Great Minds Language Arts core and supplementary product development as their team of teacher-writers crafts coherent, knowledge-rich content. Lorraine joined Great Minds as a board member in 2008 while teaching in a rural, Title One elementary school in Asheville, NC. She taught kindergarten and Grades 4 and 5 along with reading intervention. After Lorraine witnessed the profound impact of reading fluency in her fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms, she wrote numerous books with Dr. Tim Rasinski. She taught English language arts at the University of North Carolina Asheville for about six years. In 2016, Lorraine retired from teaching after more than 27 years to join Great Minds full time.
Melissa Loftus is a National Board Certified Teacher who taught middle and high school ELA for nearly 15 years in New Orleans and Baltimore. In addition to teaching, Melissa has served as a teacher-coach at both the school and district levels and as an Adjunct Professor of Education at Johns Hopkins University. She has deep experience providing professional development to teachers about effective instruction, especially in literacy. She created the Melissa & Lori Love Literacy podcast with her co-host, Lori Sappington. They have hosted over 200 podcast episodes with experts about how to teach reading and writing, and have reached more than 2 million listeners. Melissa and Lori also authored The Literacy 50—A Q&A Handbook for Teachers: Real-World Answers to Questions About Reading That Keep You Up at Night. In addition to hosting the podcast, she is a Curriculum Developer with Great Minds.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
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Great Minds PBC is a public benefit corporation founded on the belief that education should be rich in knowledge and accessible to every child. In literacy, Great Minds® has developed Arts & Letters® and Wit & Wisdom®, core English language arts programs anchored by award-winning books and authentic texts that build knowledge on engaging topics in grade levels K–8. Great Minds also has developed Geodes® books for emerging and developing readers in grade levels K–3. Geodes are published by Great Minds PBC and can be used with any reading foundations program. Geodes was originally created in association with Wilson Language Training. Great Minds also is the publisher of Eureka Math®, Eureka Math2®, and PhD Science®.
