Understanding the Roots of Reading Resistance<\/h3>\n
A central message of the summit is reframing how adults perceive children who resist reading. Too often, children who push back against books are incorrectly labeled as lazy or uncooperative. In reality, experts emphasize that these behaviors are rarely symptoms of misbehavior or a lack of effort. Instead, reluctant readers are frequently experiencing deep frustration, physical and mental exhaustion from constantly feeling like they are doing the work incorrectly, and a lack of tangible progress despite their best attempts.<\/p>\n
Organizers and speakers at the event aim to show participants that this dynamic can be completely reversed. Helping a reluctant reader succeed often hinges on approaches that are entirely manageable, provided that parents and educators know what to do and have access to the right tools. The summit is structured to help adults learn how to "flip the script" on reading struggles, transforming a source of daily friction into an opportunity for growth and positive engagement.<\/p>\n
Because reading and writing are fundamentally interconnected skills, the event will also address the writing side of literacy. A special dedicated section of the summit will focus on how to transition reluctant writers into confident and capable creators, often referred to as "Brave Writers." <\/p>\n
Comprehensive Seven-Day Speaker Lineup<\/h3>\n
The summit features a robust, multi-day schedule spanning a wide variety of topics, educational philosophies, and practical interventions. Each day is curated around specific themes designed to provide a comprehensive toolkit for anyone invested in a child’s academic and emotional development.<\/p>\n
The first day of the event, categorized under Working With Reluctant Readers, features prominent voices in the literacy community, including Dr. Louisa Moats, Nora Chahbazi, Emily Gibbons, and Dr. Marnie Ginsberg. These experts bring extensive research and practical classroom experience to the table, helping attendees understand the foundational mechanics of reading instruction and how to identify the roadblocks that cause children to disconnect from text.<\/p>\n Day Two shifts the focus directly toward writing development, spotlighting Julie Bogart. Her session centers on turning reluctant writers into Brave Writers, addressing the emotional and cognitive blocks that often prevent children from expressing themselves clearly on paper.<\/p>\n The third day delves deeper into the psychological aspects of literacy struggles. Titled Understanding the psychology of reading refusal, this segment features presentations by Dr. Melanie Wilson, Melanie Jeffrey, and Sarah Collins. Their discussions will explore the reasons behind reading refusal and offer practical guidance on keeping tasks bite-sized, utilizing effective scaffolding techniques, and flipping the script on negative learning cycles.<\/p>\n Day Four focuses on instructional design and equity in the classroom under the theme Teaching so They Can\u2019t Fail. Presenters Kurt Engelmann and Sherrie Rain will share methodologies aimed at structuring lessons and support systems so that every learner experiences consistent milestones and avoids the trap of repeated academic frustration.<\/p>\n Day Five explores creative pathways to literacy with a focus on morphology and poetry. Titled Fun with Words: Generating Interest in Reading with Morphology and Poetry, this day features insights from Dr. Pete Bowers and Dr. Tim Rasinski, who advocate for engaging students through word structures and rhythmic language arts to spark natural curiosity.<\/p>\n Day Six highlights the power of book selection as a tactical intervention. Under the theme Enticing Books: Your Secret Weapon, speakers Mia Wenjen, Joanne Kaminski, and Lori Josephson will discuss how finding the right book can act as a turning point for a resistant child, capturing their imagination and altering their relationship with reading.<\/p>\n The final day of the conference, Day Seven, offers additional strategies for winning over hesitant learners. Emily Laidlaw and Kim Yarson will present more amazing strategies, rounding out the week with diverse perspectives and innovative techniques for sustained literacy success.<\/p>\n Registration for the event is currently open, and interested participants can secure their spots by visiting the official registration page linked through the Close the Reading Gap Summit network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even with the most dedicated efforts to foster a comfortable and encouraging reading environment at home or in the classroom, many children continue to experience reading anxiety, hesitation, or outright reluctance. For some young learners, this resistance stems from unresolved reading trauma, born from years of past reading difficulties, perceived failures, and the mounting frustration…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[484],"tags":[485,487,2095,2125,2289,486,657,2126,488,2290,2288,906,2270,3204],"class_list":["post-2332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-books-and-literature","tag-books","tag-children-stories","tag-educators","tag-empowering","tag-focuses","tag-literature","tag-parents","tag-readers","tag-reading","tag-reluctant","tag-summit","tag-supporting","tag-upcoming","tag-writers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/babydollliz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"[Free](\"https:\/\/www.pragmaticmom.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/All-Speakers-2.png\")
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