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The Internet is bursting with educational websites. It can be difficult to navigate this excess and find the sites that are really worth your time. For this reason, Homeschool.com compiles a yearly list of the top 100 educational websites. This list includes both homeschool-specific sites as well as the best sites for information and products related to math, reading, writing, science, and other content areas. We’re pleased to report that ReadNaturally.com is featured on the list as one of the top educational websites of 2015! Read more

Nothing says, “Welcome back from break!” like being faced with winter benchmark assessments. The recommended testing window is December 16 – February 6, so for many of you this task is in the near future. Our blog is full of great information about winter assessments. Read more

Read Naturally, Inc. was born out of research. In 1989, a reading teacher named Candyce Ihnot conducted a study in her classroom for her master’s thesis. Candyce applied three research-based methods (teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring) in a simple set of steps in an attempt to improve her students’ reading fluency. Her approach proved to be highly effective and became the basis for the Read Naturally Strategy. Read more

Last week, I helped assemble gingerbread houses for my son’s Kindergarten class to decorate. I sat down at a table covered in empty milk cartons, graham crackers broken into various shapes, and buckets of icing. The other parent volunteers and I exchanged timid looks until the teacher met with us and showed us a fully assembled prototype. It was then that we understood what our process should be. When we saw the finished product—the goal—we could relax and get to work. Read more

Nothing can replace the learning that happens when students interact personally with a good teacher. Not even the most sophisticated computer can compete with that. However, the use of technology in connection with face-to-face learning can have huge benefits for both teachers and students. That's one reason why blended learning—a mix of online and classroom learning—is gaining popularity in schools around the world. Read more

Why is it fun to play games? Researchers have found that it’s the learning aspect of games that makes them fun. When we’re playing games, we’re making choices, realizing consequences, mastering skills, and working toward goals. We’re developing our understanding of systems and rules. Our brains are highly stimulated by this kind of learning, and we’re motivated to keep doing it. The best part is that our brains are working hard, yet we don’t feel drained by the effort—we’re just having fun! Read more

We’re pleased to announce that Funēmics®, our popular new phonemic awareness program, is a recent winner of the National Parenting Center’s Seal of Approval! This prestigious award is given seasonally to the highest quality products in the parent/child consumer market. Read more

Educators around the country—and around the world—are finding that Read Naturally programs work wonders with ELL students. The audio support, student-friendly vocabulary definitions, and high-interest story topics are just a few of the features that make our programs an ideal fit for this population. We love when ELL students learn to read English fluently with Read Naturally programs—and we love when educators take the time to share this progress. ELL instructor Kristina Hasanova is one such educator. Read more

Attention, Read Live users! We discovered that a number of people using the Read Live iPad app were not aware of some of the enhancements made over the summer. Read more

Sight words are extremely challenging. Often they’re hard to conceptualize, and they don’t follow typical phonics patterns. But sight words come up again and again in the English language. It’s essential that students learn these high-frequency words as soon as possible in order to become successful readers. Read more