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Company Teacher Tip
Enhance Your Read Naturally Program
With Related Books and Articles
Read Naturally received a great suggestion from Denise M., a Title I Teacher at Santa Rosa Academic Academy in Atascadero, CA. Denise was able to increase student engagement by making books and articles related to Read Naturally stories available to her students. This supporting content is a big hit with her students, and Denise enjoys the "treasure hunt" involved in researching each topic. Here is Denise’s story:
I teach Reading, Physical Education, and Music at Santa Rosa Academic Academy in Atascadero, CA. For the past three or four years, I have taught many small groups using Read Naturally, grades 3–6 for students at levels 0.8 to 6.0. I enjoyed my Read Naturally training two years ago, and I came away with ideas of how to use the Read Naturally materials more effectively.
This past year, I stumbled upon a great way to make Read Naturally more fun and interesting for my students. An English language learner in my class was reading the story about Beatrix Potter (Level 5.0). Her read-aloud tone sounded flat and expressionless. I asked her if she had ever seen any Beatrix Potter books. She replied that she had not. I slipped out to the library down the hall and grabbed a few Beatrix Potter books. When the student saw the beautiful water-color drawings and the adorable characters in the books for the first time, the story about the author came alive, as did the expression in her oral reading.
Seeing her excellent response, I began to collect books and articles from home and from the school library. I made a list of the stories being covered in Read Naturally to guide me. I now have a resource classroom library table filled with colorful books and National Geographic magazines directly related to the stories the students are reading. I show students the related books or articles at the point that I think they might most appreciate seeing them. Students now ask, "Do you have a book to go with my story?" or "Do you have a picture for me?"
Honestly, this treasure hunt for supporting materials has made Read Naturally more fun and interesting for me as a teacher. A recent article shared with a sixth-grade student about the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall led us into a thought-provoking discussion about freedoms we take for granted in the United States.
I’m passing on this idea just in case there are other teachers out there who want to give their Read Naturally lessons a boost.
Do you have a special technique that enhances your Read Naturally program? Tell us about it! Send your ideas to newsletter@readnaturally.com. We might feature your idea in an upcoming news article.