My Story

During my early childhood, I could not hear the wrong words I was saying as much as my teachers and parents could. I was able to overcome my speech impediment through speech therapy in elementary school where I practiced repeating words out loud until I mastered the target sound. Through Kayla’s Knook, I share my experience with students and help them discover their authentic self to reach their fullest reading potential.

Why Read Out Loud?

Accomplishments and Sustainability

  • Reduce students lack of confidence in their own reading ability.
  • Reading out loud is the single most important activity for reading success.
  • Enhanced literacy is achieved through social interaction, conversation and collaboration with peers.
  • Students gain confidence in their own reading ability.
  • Motivation to read after the Workshop is completed.
  • Improved reading comprehension by responding to prompts designed to spur conversation with peers.
  • Improved self-esteem by “seeing” themselves represented in the books they read, enabling them to make a connection with their own life.
  • Completed book written and illustrated by the student.

Kayla’s Knook resource materials may be found on this web page and the books are housed in a special “knook” at the Generations Family Success Center in Mount Holly, NJ in support of their mission to assist children with disabilities or challenges.