About Mira

Mira’s first published graded reader, Piratas del Caribe y el mapa secreto, positively changed the way teachers and students utilized beginning Spanish readers, as complete, stand-along units. Mira’s vision, when she started writing, was to make students aware of geography and history while learning Spanish through memorable characters and storylines.

One of Mira’s specialties is literacy in world language instruction. She has presented several times at the Colorado Council International Reading Association Conference (CCIRA). Mira always stays current in literacy instruction by learning from other content area specialists. She has participated in workshops by international-renowned literacy experts, such as: Cris Tovani, Donalyn Miller, Lester Laminick, Deb Miller, Stephanie Harvey, Kylene Beers, Kelly Gallagher, Penny Kittle, and Adam Gidwitz.

Mira also excels in writing intriguing storylines in easy-to-read Spanish, scaffolding texts, and creating activities for the first-semester beginner. She firmly believes that vocabulary instruction is the heart of a lesson. Mira uses whole-class gestures, Total Physical Response, her own professional photography, puppets and stuffed animals, a myriad of props, bilingual lists of words posted in front of students, question word posters, and pneumatic devices to deliver vocabulary in manageable chunks. 

Most recent presentations

ACTFL, Fake Reading No More: Developing Language with Shared Texts, November 2023

What can learners read without faking it? When language proficiency is the goal, learners must be able to read significant amounts of text. There is no time for fake reading. Give students what they can read and what they need. See how to structure classroom discussions that build co-created texts.

TCI Maine, Keep Kids Reading: Conversing through CI Novels, October 2023

How do we best use CI novels? When we connect authentically with learners through the pages of a book, it can be the best of both worlds. We can strengthen our relationships and build literacy skills. It starts with reading the room before reading the book. Practice creating and asking questions that:

• incorporate the book’s core vocabulary.
• connect learners to the main character’s traits and conflicts.
• deepen critical thinking about a book’s themes and a learner’s role in the world.

Asking Questions that Matter

Ever feel like you don’t know what to do with a reading or an image? Do you ever mindlessly click through slides of questions? How can we ask compelling questions when we read with students? Learn protocols that generate connected, meaningful questions to use with texts and images alike.

Authentic Assessments: How to Really Grade Reading Comprehension

Do reading assessments accurately measure how well learners make meaning of the text? Do they inform daily instruction? Do teachers model and practice the reading skills they assess like finding the main idea? Should only authentic texts provide assessment data? See how reading strategies can generate assessment data and improve instruction.

How to Quick-Read a Novel

Have you ever wanted to just open a novel and begin reading? Now you can. See how your joy of reading can become the path to purposeful instruction when using novels and extended texts. Thinking caps required.

Absolutely Insightful Assessments: Connecting Better with Students

Recently, there has been little time for meaningful relationships. The heart of teaching is connecting with students. Could exams create deeper insights into a student’s proficiency progress and create more trusting relationships? Absolutely! See how collaborative assessment tools utilize learners’ constant feedback to drive instruction.

Pre-Teaching Vocabulary for Novels: Setting Students Up for Success

What do you mean I should pre-teach vocabulary? Isn’t that the purpose of reading? See how a series of steps can help you infuse your classroom instruction with background knowledge that increases reading comprehension levels.

Active Input: Three Strategies that Improve Evaluation Scores

How can input-rich classroom teachers score well on evaluations? Administrators like to see minimal teacher talk, ample student-peer interaction, higher-level thinking, and students directing their own learning. Learn three strategies that score high in these evaluation categories while keeping comprehension-based approaches in the forefront.