VERA GOODMAN
Educator and creator of the Reading Wings SIMPLY READ! Method.
Vera Goodman holds a Master’s degree in Language Arts from the University of Calgary and is a retired teacher with experience teaching grades 1 to 9.
As a private tutor, she has helped parents learn how to coach their children to read and write effectively. She is recognized by educators and parents for her ability to explain the reading process simply and clearly. Her personal research into literacy development has produced the strategies presented in her books and online course.
As a teacher, administrator, conference speaker and workshop facilitator for many years, Vera is recognized as a leading authority in teaching children and adults how to become competent and enthusiastic readers.
Vera lives in Calgary, Alberta. She has three daughters Cathy, Susan and Judy, and three grandchildren, Sean, Bryce and Rachel
LET VERA INSPIRE YOU
EXPERIENCE AND CREDENTIALS
• Teacher and administrator for 30 years in grades one to nine.
• Trainer with the Calgary Writing Project.
• Initiator and chair of the first Young Writers’ Conference in Calgary.
• Bachelor of Education & Master of Arts from the University of Calgary.
• Master’s thesis that investigated the roots of reading in book-sharing episodes between mothers and
their two-year-olds.
• Calgary Learning Center – Initiated a highly successful mentorship training program for reading volunteers in high need schools.
• Private reading consultant to parents and their struggling readers.
• Author of the bestselling online course SIMPLY READ! Parent Version which provides a
multimedia-enhanced and interactive method to get children reading better
• Author of bestseller Reading is More than Phonics! A Parents’ Guide for Reading with Beginning or
Discouraged Readers now revised and re-titled Simply Read! Helping Others Learn to Read.
• Author of Simply Write! Practical Advice for Personal & Family Writing.
• Author of Simply Too Much Homework! What Can We Do?
• Producer of a teaching video for parents, Coaching Young Readers.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
WOMAN OF INSPIRATION
September 2018
Vera was recognized as one of the women of inspiration. She shares how to live to our potential in this video.
TOP 7 OVER 70
October 2017
Vera was honored as one of the Top 7 Over 70. You’re never too old to experiment, excel, enrich your life and engage in community and Vera has exemplified that throughout her life. Check out the Video.
SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 2004 MEDALLION AWARD
Vera was awarded the 2004 Medallion Award from the Alumni Association of Seattle Pacific University for exhibiting excellent and outstanding service in her field of work, while representing the ideals of the university.
WOMAN OF VISION
July 2002
Vera was Global Television’s Woman of Vision in Calgary. Woman of Vision recipients are those whose actions and spirit capture our hearts and inspire others to new levels of success. Their commitment and leadership enrich our lives and make our community and world a better place.
SEATTLE PACIFIC UNIVERSITY 2004 MEDALLION AWARD
Vera was awarded the 2004 Medallion Award from the Alumni Association of Seattle Pacific University for exhibiting excellent and outstanding service in her field of work, while representing the ideals of the university.
GOVERNOR GENERAL’S AWARD
She received the Governor General’s Award in Grade 12 at Central Collegiate in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
Our nightly reading time with our daughter turned into a
battle because she struggled with simple words … but
when she read a difficult book using Vera’s approach,
I couldn’t believe it was the same child!
Dawnette L. Brett
Parent
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENTS
- Everyone is gifted in some way. The most important role of those who interact with children is to help them identify and strengthen their gifts. Children are capable of much more than we realize if they are given the support and environment that allows for personal growth. Our duty is to empower children with the ability to take on learning for themselves.
- I believe in the basic nature of the fine arts in achieving learning that becomes a part of the deep structure of our experience. Everyone must be given the opportunity to create in many different mediums if they are to appreciate what others have created.
- Everyone who is not mentally handicapped can learn to read if they are not burdened with negative images of reading or of themselves as learners. In this connection, the child’s first contacts with books and reading are very important to the view of what reading is and of one’s role in the process. I am acutely aware that the period of infancy and early childhood is crucial to becoming, not only literate, but to achieving a healthy self-image so that learning can occur.
- Those who successfully enable others to learn are sustainers (as opposed to rescuers or judges). They are able to effectively organize situations which help learners to achieve what I believe to be the most basic of human needs: a sense of importance and a validation that they are able to do things that are valued by others.
- My goal in working with others is to be a lens and catalyst, to help them blend new perspectives into their own frames of reference. I have a common sense, simplified approach to teaching and
learning that involves learners in skill-building activities while fostering an interest in learning for the sake of learning.
