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In the literacy education landscape, one-minute timings often find themselves at the center of discussion—and sometimes misconception.  

Critics argue that these timings only foster stress and promote speed reading. It’s true that one-minute timings, when introduced without proper framing, can indeed lead to stress or a misguided emphasis on speed. But that isn’t the whole truth. When used in an appropriate way, one-minute timings can be a highly useful tool.  Read more

We've arrived at the season of giving thanks--but shouldn't that be every season? Research shows that grateful people are happier and healthier. Here are 13 easy ways to cultivate gratitude in your classroom all year long. Click on the links to download free printables! Read more

Last year, we asked you to share feedback about what makes parent-teacher conferences successful. Thank you to all the teachers and parents who responded! Here is a compilation of the advice we received--the list includes everything from how to provide parents flexibility in scheduling to why it's important to have a variety of jelly bean flavors. Please read and enjoy this timeless advice! Read more

Comprehension gives the act of reading a purpose and opens the door to enjoyment of reading. Indeed, deriving meaning from text is why we bother reading at all! Yet comprehension can be a struggle for any student, but often it’s especially challenging for multilingual students. What can we do to set them up for success in Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Live—Español? Read more

Assessing students' needs and placing them appropriately is crucial to success in Read Live programs. Check out these short, informative videos to guide you through the process. Read more

My eighth grader, Adam, refused to participate in his piano recital this year because he hadn’t learned his piece well enough. I can confirm that he hadn’t practiced much and was making lots of mistakes. Even so, a few days before the recital, I pleaded with him, “Can you just go up there and play it as best as you can? It’s okay if you make mistakes!”—to which he responded, as I knew he would, “No way. That’s too embarrassing.” Read more

We made it to June! Congrats on wrapping up another fantastic school year. We hope you get the opportunity to look back at all you accomplished this year and celebrate a job well done. One of our traditions here at Read Naturally is to look back at all the blog posts we wrote this year and see which ones were the most popular with our readers. This provides a great opportunity to highlight content you may have missed during the busy school year. Read more

​In my last post, I shared the many assessment mistakes I’ve made over the years. Blunders aside, I actually love spring assessments for one simple reason. The spring assessment gives me an opportunity to show my students the big picture and remind them that the best reward of all is taking ownership of their own progress. This is usually just a short conversation, but it’s one of the most important talks I will have with them. Read more

​Is it really assessment season again? It feels like yesterday that I opened the lab at this new school, met my students, and screened them for reading difficulties using benchmark assessment. The winter assessment window seemed to arrive just a short time after that. And now it’s springtime already, and spring assessment window is almost here. It is time to prepare to assess the students yet again. Read more

As a mother of four young children who are drawn to the iPad like moths to a flame, it’s a little hard for me to write a blog post about the upside of screen time. Mostly I see the iPad as a frequent source of conflict in my house. My kids want to play games or watch shows on it, and I want them to do things I’ve deemed more meaningful—read books, play outside, build with Legos, or, dare I even dream it, pick up their room. Indeed, plenty of research confirms the negative consequences of too much screen time, which is why so many parents find themselves fighting this battle with their children day after day. Read more