Melissa Cheesman Smith

Melissa Cheesman Smith is an author of professional literacy resources and an experienced classroom teacher at both the elementary and college levels. She holds a Master’s of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and has been described as a veteran fifth-grade teacher and Arizona State University faculty associate, with a focus on helping educators integrate effective reading fluency instruction into daily practice. She lives in Mesa, Arizona, with her husband and three children.

Smith is the coauthor, with Timothy V. Rasinski, of The Megabook of Fluency and The Megabook of Fluency, 2nd Edition: Strategies and Texts to Engage All Readers, comprehensive resources that provide more than 50 fluency strategies and accompanying texts for grades K–8. She is also a published author of other literacy professional books, including The Megabook of Vocabulary: Strategies to Boost Word Learning for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, and has contributed to materials such as word ladders that support word study and fluency development.