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When I first started teaching, I knew that independent reading was important. I knew I wanted to give my students the opportunity to read something on their own that they loved, but I didn’t realize the need to be specific and intentional in this practice. Because of this, I would provide time for “free reading” or “DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) Time” on a regular basis. However, it didn’t always go as planned. From time to time, I would have students flipping through pages of the book (not reading). Some students played in their desks during this time. I even had a student or two fall asleep. As a new teacher, I knew I needed to provide opportunity for more focused reading, but I didn’t know how to make that happen. I was frustrated with myself and my students. Read more

The word “troubleshooting” is the theme of this year’s Read Naturally lab! We’ve experienced a whole new way of teaching and making the best out of distance learning. At the beginning of the year, our school was lucky enough to be in session full-time, every day. This allowed for a somewhat normal Read Naturally schedule. However, due to the Covid19 situation, the school no longer allowed volunteers in the building. With 3 classes of 8-10 students, we were still in need of extra teachers. Zoom to the rescue! Read more

This past year has been especially challenging for teachers, students, and parents. As 2020 winds down, we’d like to thank educators everywhere for their continued dedication to student success. Your work is incredibly important and greatly appreciated. Thank you for everything you do. Read more

The latest Read Live update released on November 19, 2020 provides even greater support to educators and students using the program in a distance learning model. Check out the full release notes for more detailed information. Read more

A new online course is now available for Word Warm-ups Live, our research-based phonics intervention. Read Naturally Online Courses for Teachers provides free self-paced, on-demand training to help you thoroughly understand how to implement Read Live programs with your students. The Word Warm-ups Live course includes seven lessons covering everything you need to know to be successful. Read more

The most rewarding part of a Read Naturally intervention—for both students and teachers—is the progress students make. By this point in the school year, you likely have several students who have made significant gains in fluency, comprehension, or both. When you notice this growth, it’s time to assess whether the student needs an extra challenge in the form of a goal or level increase. Typically, you’ll make such a change after a student has completed 12 stories at his/her current level. Here are the signs it’s time to raise the goal or level: Read more

If you’ve been following along with our recent news announcements, you’ve learned we’re very excited about the release of our new phonics program, Word Warm-ups Live. We’re also committed to helping educators everywhere begin to use this highly effective program with their students. We’ve developed several free resources to answer all of your questions about assessment, placement, implementation, and everything in between. Be sure to check out this recent blog post, Useful Resources for a Successful Word Warm-ups Live Implementation, which links to all of these resources. Read more

Back in 2018, Read Naturally founder Candyce Ihnot wrote a blog post about how she uses the Word Warm-ups program to boost her students’ phonics skills. In her post, Time for Phonics, Candyce explains why using Word Warm-ups for phonics practice is beneficial for readers at all levels. She also explains the clever and motivating ways she incorporates this program into the daily schedule of her reading lab. Be sure to check out her article, as it describes several ideas that have resulted in great success—and great fun—in Candyce’s reading lab. Read more

Striving readers need systematic phonics instruction. Word Warm-ups Live was developed to help students improve word recognition, learn to use word patterns to decode rapidly, read words with featured patterns in connected text, decode increasingly difficult phonetically regular words, and reinforce featured phonics skills through spelling. Read more

With the addition of Word Warm-ups Live, we’ve expanded our phonics offerings to reach a greater number of students and to provide more flexibility. It is our hope that any student in need of phonics support can benefit from our programs. The first step, of course, is to determine who needs that support. We offer a general phonics assessment, Quick Phonics Screener, as well as an assessment specifically for Word Warm-ups Live. What’s the difference, and how will you use these assessments to understand your students’ phonics needs? Read more