Common Core State Standards tell us that students need to be given challenging text. I wasn't always sure this was the case for struggling readers; however, I have found it to be very true with my students. In fact, early in the year last year, one of our fourth grade students, Nick, finished all the stories in level 5.0. He wasn’t ready to exit the program since his fluency and comprehension scores were not where we needed them to be, but we were concerned that the stories in level 5.6 would be too challenging.
Read more Not long ago, Read Naturally writers could be found crafting new stories about everything from the first cellphone to a harrowing shipwreck survival. Meanwhile, they were updating previously published Read Naturally stories to reflect the most current research. But why stop there?
A cascade of content enhancements followed. Hundreds of new vocabulary terms were defined, and comprehension questions were added to be more consistent with standardized tests. New illustrations, improved audio, Spanish translations, updated manuals, and a fresh design made the content come to life. Teachers were deeply involved every step of the way, ensuring that all content was appropriate for struggling readers and compliant with Common Core State Standards. Finally, in early 2012, Read Naturally released the best version of its flagship product to date—Read Naturally Encore.
Read more Did you know that chelonian is another word for turtle? Or that cordate means heart-shaped? Next time you leave a scrap of food on your plate, call it an ort and see who’s impressed.
If you’re a word nerd, you’re in good company here at Read Naturally. Even if you’re not, you can probably relate to the sense of accomplishment that comes from learning new words. The benefits of vocabulary development cannot be overestimated. It’s critical to the comprehension of text, it helps us communicate better, and it enables us to enjoy a broader range of material. That’s why, when we developed Read Naturally Live, we wanted to incorporate a fun and engaging way for students to learn useful new words. Enter: Wordtastic.
Read more At this point in the school year, some of your students may be ready to exit their Read Naturally program. A student may be ready to exit Read Naturally if…
The student can read unpracticed, grade-level material accurately, expressively, and at a rate that is at least at the 50th percentile of national norms.
Read more Read Live Tip #8: Are You Communicating About Student Progress With Parents, Guardians, and Colleagues?
Read Naturally Live has many resources to support communication including reports, a progress letter, and certificates that can be sent home with packets of stories completed. Use Read Naturally Live reports to communicate about student performance with colleagues.
Read more If your students have been using Read Naturally since the beginning of the year, they should now have a pretty good handle on using the program. You should be able to spend your time monitoring their progress and differentiating instruction instead of reminding them what they need to be doing. In addition to checking their hot and cold timings to look at their progress (and making any necessary adjustments), you should be checking how each student is doing on the comprehension questions. Is the student getting at least 80% of the questions correct? Do you have some students who are consistently getting certain questions wrong?
Read more Read Live Tip # 7: Monitoring Student Performance to Keep Each Student Challenged
Accelerate learning by keeping students challenged as they improve. To make sure students are continually challenged, regularly monitor each student’s performance to determine when to make changes in a student’s level or goal (typically after completing 12 or 24 stories). Use the guidelines in the Read Live User Guide to decide when to make a change, when to raise the level or goal, and how to involve the student.
Read more Read Live Tip #6: Use the Story Options Feature to Help Differentiate Instruction
You can adjust the program for individual students or groups using story options. Possible changes include turning off steps, adjusting time limits for steps, adjusting the number of read alongs and practices required, and adding a Spanish read along for native speakers of Spanish.
Read more Read Naturally is proud to announce its newest assessment and intervention program, Read Live, was named a finalist for the 2011 EdTech Digest Cool Tool Awards. The products, services and people that made the list of finalists are innovative, respected and outstanding cool tools, leaders and trendsetters moving education forward into the 21st century. We are thrilled that Read Live made the list!
Read more Read Live Tip #5: Do you know what to do when students don’t pass a story?
To pass a Read Naturally Live story, each student needs to read the story at his or her goal rate, make three or fewer errors, read with appropriate expression, answer the quiz questions correctly, and meet the teacher’s expectations when retelling the story. If a student does not successfully complete one or more of the criteria for passing, you will be taken to the Pass/Remedial Actions screen to decide the best course of action. Remedial actions can be selected for each pass requirement a student does not meet.
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Share your student’s success story—nominate him or her for our Star of the Month award. Win a Barnes & Noble gift card for the student and a Read Naturally gift certificate for your class!
