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A good educator finds strategies and programs that work and implements them in the classroom. A great educator begins with an effective strategy or program and then develops ways to extend the learning even further. Kristin McDaniel, a first-grade teacher in San Juan Capistrano, CA, is one of the great ones. Pleased with the results she was seeing from Read Naturally’s spelling program, Signs for Sounds, Kristin asked herself how she could capitalize on her students’ momentum. Was there a way to reinforce and solidify their understanding of the word patterns and high-frequency words featured in the program? Read more

In the Tom Hanks + Meg Ryan blockbuster “You’ve Got Mail,” a giant book superstore opens up right next to a small, independent bookstore. The movie explores how the two businesses are different. The giant store offers a wider selection. The small store provides a more personal touch. The giant store does a decent job at many things; the small store does an excellent job at a few things. Read more

Prior to becoming Read Naturally’s Educational Consultant, Karen Hunter was a reading specialist, special education teacher, and teacher trainer for 30 years in California. Karen is always brainstorming ways to teach valuable skills to students, and she has a knack for developing creative and motivating tools. This past year, our blog featured three posts by Karen, each one including a free resource she developed. Readers couldn’t download the content quickly enough. In case you missed them, we wanted to share them again. Read more

Where’s the best place to find free resources to help your struggling readers? We offer a multitude of them on our website—specifically in the Knowledgebase. The Knowledgebase is full of valuable resources, including downloadable materials, how-to videos, research studies, product samples, and much more. We created this data hub to give educators easy access to absolutely everything they need to turn struggling readers into successful ones. Read more

Researchers in academic settings frequently conduct studies of our programs. Overwhelmingly, these studies demonstrate the positive effects of a Read Naturally intervention. For example, Dr. Jayna Jensen recently conducted a study in which Special Education students at a middle school in California used Read Naturally Software Edition (SE). The study found that the Read Naturally intervention produced statistically significant gains in the students’ California Modified English Assessment (CMA) scores. Read more

To celebrate Read Live's fourth birthday, we solicited the help of Read Live’s best friends—a.k.a., our tech support staff. We asked them to tell about the growth and personality they’ve observed in Read Live over the years. Here are some fun facts: Read more

We frequently encounter homeschool educators who are interested in using our materials. Often these educators have heard positive things about how our research-based programs work for struggling readers. Although our programs weren't specifically designed for use in a homeschool setting, many can be adapted to work well in this environment. Read more

Literacy expert Tim Shanahan outlines the many benefits of formal spelling instruction in his article, Should We Teach Spelling? We recommend Shanahan’s article for a compelling answer to the question of whether to teach spelling. But another, equally important question, is how to teach spelling. Finding the right instructional materials is key. Read more

…to attend a Read Naturally seminar, of course! No, seriously, we’re not kidding. Our seminars are just as enjoyable as they are informative. Our dynamic presenters will captivate your interest with fascinating research and exciting, hands-on demonstrations. You’ll experience the Read Naturally Strategy from the perspective of a struggling student, which will allow you to see just how effective and motivating it is. Read more

In an effort to give you more of the content you want moving forward, we decided to take a look back. We wanted to know which blog posts resonated most with our customers this year. Here are the ten most popular posts from the past year: Read more