Using AI to Support Struggling Readers (Grades K-6)

NEW Seminar Presented By
Kelly Harmon
Outstanding Educator and International Presenter

Specifically Designed for Educators Serving Grades K-6: Classroom Teachers, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches, Title I Staff, Special Education Staff, Interventionists, and Administrators

Streamline planning and personalize instruction with AI tools proven to save you time
Dozens of AI strategies to generate interventions that work for word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and writing for your striving readers
Strengthen literacy using AI-created tools designed to help students improve literacy skills … Tools to more easily generate intervention plans, track progress, and adapt strategies based on real-time student performance and needs
Discover ways AI helps get to the root causes of reading struggles

Practical Ideas and Strategies

Join Kelly Harmon, an internationally recognized educational consultant with extensive experience supporting Grades K-6 learners, for a strategy-packed day filled with the most effective, research-based literacy practices. This NEW seminar is designed to help you respond to a wide range of student needs by using the Science of Reading and Writing, along with powerful AI tools that streamline planning, differentiate instruction, and deepen engagement.

You'll discover how to:

Use AI to identify and build upon each student's strengths and interests, to generate leveled texts, scaffold instruction, and provide targeted practice, and more!
Support students in setting learning goals and monitoring their own growth
Create personalized AI-powered tutors to reinforce essential literacy skills

You'll leave the seminar with:

An extensive digital resource handbook full of ready-to-use lesson materials, texts, and templates and access to Kelly's exclusive online library of tools and resources designed for Grades K-6
A playbook of high-impact strategies to address gaps and accelerate progress
Innovative routines and activities to boost confidence and foster independent learning

This high-energy day is filled with practical, classroom-tested ideas you can use immediately. Whether you're working with students who need additional support or striving to elevate the literacy experience for all, you'll walk away equipped and inspired with strategies that maximize every learning opportunity.

Ten Key Benefits of Attending

Keys to Intervening Quickly When Students Fall Behind – Faster With AI
Discover high-impact ways to respond rapidly to reading and writing difficulties in Grades 3–6 … Use AI tools to identify gaps, design targeted interventions, and deliver personalized support that accelerates progress for struggling readers
Build Upon Strengths With AI-Powered Insight
Learn how to identify your students' strengths, interests, and challenges using AI to analyze student data and generate interest-based learning tasks … Tap into student motivation to strengthen literacy growth and close the reading and writing gap
Create Differentiated Intervention Lessons – In Less Time
Use AI to quickly generate leveled reading passages, scaffolded practice, and individualized progress-monitoring tools … Learn how to partner with students to set goals, track growth, and engage in self-assessment using AI-supported tools like Magic School, Curipod, and more
Boost SEL and Literacy Progress With AI-Enhanced Motivation Strategies
Help students develop confidence and resilience through targeted feedback and personalized support … Use AI to co-create affirming reading and writing experiences that increase student ownership, belief in their abilities, and joy in literacy learning
Integrate Curriculum With Ease Using AI and High-Impact Strategies
Harness AI to design integrated reading and writing lessons using content from science, social studies, and math … Use mentor texts, multi-modal resources, and strategic groupings to build background knowledge, strengthen literacy skills, and deepen cross-subject connections
Apply the Science of Reading + AI for Accelerated Growth
Use AI to scaffold just-in-time instruction based on the Science of Reading, Writing, and Learning … Learn how to create a custom GPT-powered private tutor tailored to your students' specific needs – targeting essential skills such as decoding, spelling, fluency, and comprehension
Supervised, Purposeful Use of AI
Strategies to introduce, guide and develop responsible, ethical users of AI … Discover the best ways to use AI in your classroom while balancing the challenges and risks
Create Literacy Learning Experiences Students Will Love – With AI Support
Learn how to use AI to curate and build text sets, visual supports, and comprehension tasks that activate background knowledge and teach students to connect new information with prior learning – essential for boosting comprehension in struggling readers
Prioritize Critical Learning and Bridge Gaps With AI Planning Tools
Discover how to identify priority literacy standards and prerequisite skills by using AI to accelerate gap-closing … Use technology to generate intervention plans that align with your scope and sequence while remaining student centered and time efficient
Receive an Extensive Digital Resource Handbook With AI Tools & Templates
Leave with a powerful digital handbook packed with strategies, templates, leveled passages, prompts, and planning tools – including AI prompts and links to free tools – to support immediate implementation in your classroom

Specific Topics

Here's what you'll learn:

How to strengthen your learning environment into a novel, safe space to maximize learning
The best high-impact strategies and routines to support students who have fallen behind
How to use AI tools to design differentiated lessons for word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing
How to partner with students to set literacy goals and monitor daily progress using digital tools
Ways to integrate content area texts to build background knowledge and schema for deeper comprehension
How to create a private GPT tutor tailored to specific student needs using AI sidekicks or chatbots
Steps for teaching students to use AI responsibly, ethically, and effectively in reading and writing
How to use AI as a thought partner when planning intervention lessons and generating instructional materials
Scaffolding instruction based on the Science of Reading using AI for just-in-time support
Creating multimodal literacy tasks that increase engagement, motivation, and student agency
How to use leveled passages and comprehension questions created by tools like Diffit to close reading gaps
Designing integrated reading and writing lessons with mentor texts using AI for content connections
How to help students develop self-efficacy as readers and writers with structured AI-supported feedback
Using AI to quickly identify prerequisite skills needed to access grade-level standards
How to teach inferencing skills by building schema and activating background knowledge through AI-generated visuals and prompts
Strategies for using AI to provide scaffolds for English learners and students with disabilities
How to boost fluency with AI tools that offer personalized, speech-supported reading practice
Using AI to co-create writing exemplars and success criteria with your students
How to build a digital playbook of high-impact literacy strategies supported by AI tools
Ways to foster creativity and independent thinking in struggling readers using AI-supported writing and reading tasks

A Message From Your Seminar Leader

Dear Colleague:

There is no doubt that the past few years have brought major shifts to our classrooms, especially in how we support the diverse learning needs of our students.

What hasn't changed is our unwavering commitment to helping every student thrive – especially those who need targeted support to access and master grade-level literacy skills. Like you, I'm dedicated to finding the most effective, sustainable ways to meet these needs without burning out. That's why I'm excited to invite you to a powerful, forward-thinking seminar: Using AI to Support Struggling Readers (Grades K-6).

This is not about replacing teachers – AI will never replace the human ability to build relationships, spark curiosity, or model a love for reading and learning. But AI can be a powerful partner in the work we do. It can help us make better instructional decisions, generate high-quality resources in minutes, and tailor instruction with more precision and less time.

During our day together, you'll explore how to:

Use AI as a thought partner to increase productivity and reduce time spent on planning, reteaching, and differentiation
Target the five critical components of reading – word recognition, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and writing – using science-based,
high-impact strategies
Diagnose the root causes of reading difficulties and design personalized interventions using student data and AI-supported insights
Empower students as ethical, responsible AI users who can use these tools to build independence, confidence, and skill in reading and writing

You'll leave with a practical, time-saving toolkit of ready-to-use strategies, AI tools, and an extensive digital resource handbook filled with templates, activities, prompts, and scaffolded texts – all designed to strengthen literacy instruction and make your day-to-day work easier.

Please join me for this engaging, idea-packed seminar filled with innovative, easy-to-implement ways to accelerate literacy growth – while honoring the irreplaceable role you play in your students' lives.

With appreciation,
Kelly Harmon

P.S. You will learn dozens of specific instructional strategies you can use to greatly increase the success of your Grades K-6 students and will leave with an extensive digital resource handbook as well as my online resources!

Who Should Attend

Educators Serving Grades K-6: Classroom Teachers, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches, Title I Staff, Special Education Staff, Interventionists, and Administrators

Special Benefits of Attending

Extensive Digital Resource Handbook
Each participant will receive an extensive digital resource handbook specifically designed for this seminar. The handbook includes:

A playbook of high-impact strategies to support struggling readers
Dozens of ideas for harnessing the power of AI along step-by-step guidance on the best ways to use it
Intervention ideas, tools and strategies designed to strengthen the skills of your striving readers
Access to Kelly's exclusive online library of tools and resources designed for Grades K-6

Share Ideas
This seminar provides a wonderful opportunity for participants to meet and share ideas with other educators interested in enhancing their reading program.

Consultation Available
Kelly Harmon will be available for consultation regarding your questions and the unique needs of your own program.

Semester Credit Option:
UMASS Logo Graduate level professional development credit is available with an additional fee and completion of follow up practicum activities. Details for direct enrollment with University of Massachusetts Global, a nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts, will be available at the seminar.

Meet Inservice Requirements:
At the end of the program, each attendee will receive a certificate of participation that may be used to verify hours of participation in meeting continuing education requirements.

^ Back to Top