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Kelly Johnson

Kelly Johnson, PhD, is a faculty member in teacher education at San Diego State University. She is also a classroom teacher at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego.

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Kelly Johnson

Kelly Johnson, PhD, is a faculty member in teacher education at San Diego State University and a classroom teacher at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego. She teaches reading methods, classroom management, and liberal studies at SDSU and ninth-grade English at Health Sciences High. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she also serves as an instructional coach for teachers with varying levels of experience.

Dr. Johnson’s current focus is on assessment and small-group instruction in secondary classrooms. Prior to her current secondary and postsecondary positions, she taught grades 1–6 and worked as a peer coach and a reading-intervention teacher. She is the recipient of the Constance McCullough Research Award by the California Reading Association for her study on assessment and diagnostic instruction. She also received the International Reading Association’s Celebrate Literacy Award, which honored her for her significant literacy contributions.

Dr. Johnson has published in The Reading Teacher, The California Reader, The Reading Professor, and Literacy, and has coauthored several books, including Accommodating Differences among English Language Learners: 75+ Literacy Lessons (2nd and 3rd Eds.), Designing Responsive Curriculum: Planning Lessons that Work, and Teaching Literacy in First Grade (Tools for Teaching Literacy).

Often referred to by her colleagues as a teacher’s teacher, Dr. Johnson has appeared in many instructional videos on teacher modeling, assessment and instruction, effective grouping, and writing instruction.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California at San Diego, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction—language arts from San Diego State University, and a PhD in literacy and language from San Diego State University/Claremont Graduate University.


Presentations by Kelly Johnson

  • Interactions: Focusing on Purpose and Meaningful Work
  • Scaffolding Student Language and Learning for Independence
  • Better Learning through Structured Teaching
  • Supporting English Learners as They Develop Social and Academic Literacy Proficiency
  • Vocabulary Instruction: Beyond Dictionary Definitions … Way Beyond!
  • Improving Student Achievement through Teacher Practice
  • A Changing Paradigm: Overview of the Common Core State Standards
  • Common Core Standards: Text Complexity and Close Reading