Kristina Smekens

Inspiring educators with strategies that are simple and effective

Kristina Smekens has built a reputation for using enthusiasm, humor, and common sense to equip K-12 educators with practical, demystifying strategies for teaching reading and writing.

As president and lead consultant for Smekens Education, she is constantly developing new strategies to help teachers meet the demands of today’s College and Career-Ready Standards.

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LITERACY LEADER

A dynamic presenter

Kristina has a gift for making the complex seem simple—for showing teachers how to meet the needs of readers and writers by bridging the gap between education research and practical, classroom-tested strategies that work. When she presents at state and national conferences, teachers flock to her sessions because they know Kristina will share strategies they can use in their own classrooms the very next day.

Beyond providing teachers with practical classroom techniques, Kristina is also a master of motivation. By demonstrating enthusiasm for innovation, she helps educators find the encouragement they need to return to their classrooms and execute change.

How do I start learning from Kristina?

Driven by the desire to help teachers thrive and students succeed, Kristina is always creating new videos, lessons, articles, and workshops to share with educators.

Subscribe to Ask Smekens

In this twice-monthly email, Kristina answers teacher questions with new videos and articles.

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Attend Kristina’s Live Workshops

When you attend Kristina’s live workshops, you leave with a jolt of learning and inspiration.

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Hire Kristina to Lead a Keynote Address

Always a crowd-pleaser, Kristina offers both substance and entertainment to groups of all sizes.

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Schedule Time for Kristina to Come to Your School

On-site training and consultations allow the entire staff to learn and grow together.

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Schedule Live Virtual Training with Kristina

Using Zoom video conferencing, live, face-to-face professional development for teachers is just a click away.

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Subscribe to Kristina’s Video Library

With more than 200 videos to choose from, Kristina’s strategies are available on-demand.

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Enroll in Kristina’s online workshops

Take a deep dive into a single topic during one of Kristina’s 5-hour on-demand video workshops.

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Visit the Learning Center

Access hundreds of free articles, videos, and other resources for teaching reading and writing.

Learning Center

Purchase Kristina’s original resources

You won’t break the bank with Kristina’s original books, guides, and teaching tools.

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What other educators say

“Kristina is the QUEEN of making the invisible VISIBLE, and, more importantly, CONCRETE. She concretely teaches it to me so that I can teach my kids. I thought this year’s Retreat was career-changing!”

Heidi Tornquist

Teacher,
Elm Road Elementary School, Mishawaka, IN

“I glean MORE depth of knowledge every time I am in Kristina’s presence. Her expertise is at the top of the Literacy Food Chain and YET she is the only guru that SHOWS HOW explicitly. Profound and one-of-a-kind amongst other experts out there.”

Beth Mouw

Teacher,
Black Forest Elementary School, Oak Brook, IL

“After 28 years of teaching, I have attended a lot of PD workshops. Absolutely none of them hold a candle to the Smekens workshops I have attended. Kristina is inspirational and makes me look forward to a new year!”

Carol Brown

Teacher,
Ankeney Middle School, Beavercreek, OH

THOUGHT LEADER

An accomplished author

Well known for offering innovative ideas, Kristina has created more than 50 “Smekens Originals,” a compilation of books, guides, and classroom tools designed to help teachers implement best-practice literacy strategies. Among the most popular of these resources are her best-selling books, Launching the Writer’s Workshop: Grades K-2 and Grades 3-12.

Other popular publications include The Trait Mate: 6-Traits Starter Lessons, Connecting Comprehension & Composition, Sing & Comprehend, Close-Reading Questions for Literature, Close-Reading Questions for Informational Text, Trait Trackers, and Serving Up Synthesis. Additionally, Kristina is the author of Trait-Based Writing: Lessons and Activities (Scholastic, 2009).

A crafter of ideas

Beyond books and physical teacher tools, Kristina has also created a library of on-demand professional learning videos that are utilized by teachers around the world. With topics ranging from “Building Kid-Friendly Writing Rubrics” to “Achieving a Close Reading,” each of Kristina’s “webPD” videos uses a seminar-style format to capture her energy and enthusiasm while conveying her teacher-friendly ideas.

Background

A teacher from the start

Kristina grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan where both of her parents fulfilled rewarding careers in teaching and school administration. From her early days playing teacher with her two siblings, Kristina has always been on a path to motivate and educate.

After earning her BA in English and education at Michigan State University, Kristina was an accomplished high school English and journalism teacher in Michigan and Indiana. A leader in state and national scholastic journalism endeavors, Kristina authored a journalism textbook and teachers’ guide for Walsworth Publishing in 2002.

Over the years, she has been blessed to work and learn with hundreds of schools and thousands of teachers around the globe. For her contributions to literacy in Indiana, specifically, Kristina was presented the Excellence in Reading Award by the Indiana State Reading Association in 2013.

Kristina lives in Warren, Indiana with her husband and business partner, Brady. Together, they have three young adult children who are preparing for careers in music, business, and education.

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We are eager to help you achieve your PD goals!