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This post is based on an interview conducted by Read Naturally marketing associate Madeline Waters with Crest Middle School faculty Jennifer Melton, media specialist and Tier 3 reading interventionist.

In Read Naturally Live, Word Warm-ups Live, and Read Naturally Live—Español, students can complete most steps independently, giving teachers the flexibility to support multiple students at once. This design is especially helpful for ensuring every student receives individualized support while working through the program at their own pace. However, there are specific moments built into the process to make sure students get essential one-on-one time with the teacher. If you’re new to Read Live, you may be wondering how this works in practice. Let’s explore some common questions.

How do you know when students are ready for your support?

There are several clear signals built into Read Live to help you know when a student is ready for teacher assistance. The most visible is that the borders of the student’s screen turn red, indicating they’re ready for a check-in. As you move around the room, you can quickly spot a red border and know that student is ready for your help.

In addition, some teachers use physical tools to make the process even smoother. For instance, Jennifer Melton, a Tier 3 reading interventionist at Crest Middle School, uses card tents. “I usually have little card tents that say, ‘I'm ready to read’, so instead of raising their hands the students put the little neon green tent next to their desk, and that lets me know they're ready for me.”

If you prefer a digital approach, the Student Activity Page in the Staff Module shows a ‘Waiting’ column, with a program icon next to any student who is ready for teacher support. This ensures you always have a quick way to check who is waiting, even if you’re not physically near their desk.

What happens when multiple students are ready for you at the same time?

Occasionally, multiple students may be ready for one-on-one time at the same moment. But don’t worry! While students wait, they’re not idle. Instead, they can engage in a fun vocabulary game called Wordtastic (Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Live—Español) or Phontastic (Word Warm-ups Live), where they answer synonym/antonym or phonics/phonemic awareness questions at their reading level. These activities are great for increasing their exposure to words and boosting their vocabulary and phonics.

Jennifer installed an additional system to further increase her students’ engagement with this valuable wait-time activity: “At the end of every session I would offer just a little prize for whoever had the highest Wordtastic score, so they have something to work for while they were waiting for me. Mainly candy.”

She cautions that with this strategy, “Sometimes they didn't want me to come over to them. So sometimes, you know, the little green tent I was telling you about, they’d leave it down on purpose because they were competing with each other to see who could get the most points.” So, if you’re thinking about implementing a similar reward system, just be sure to keep an eye on the digital cues that students are ready to work with you, as they might try to extend their wait-time fun!

Do you have any creative systems or incentives surrounding Wordtastic or Phontastic in your Read Live Lab? Share your ideas in the comments!