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It's now the middle of March, but the remnants of Valentine's Day still linger in my couch cushions. The handmade cards are always my favorite ones to find… especially the ones wishing a "Happy Valantine's Day." I asked my first grader if he knew what makes the word Valentine so hard to spell. He guessed, "Because it's a long word," which is half right. Long words are usually multisyllabic, and multisyllabic words usually have a schwa. The schwa sound—such as the one on the first "e" in Valentine—is notorious for making words difficult to read and spell. Read more

If you peruse Apple’s App Store, you’ll find thousands of apps that claim to be educational. But do these apps really promote learning? Or is the word “educational” just thrown in to make them more appealing to teachers and parents? Read more

National Center on Intensive Intervention content experts reviewed and published Read Naturally’s Taxonomy Brief on Read Naturally Live to help educators examine the extent to which the program incorporates the seven dimensions of a quality intensive reading program. Intervention Taxonomy Brief: Read Naturally Live is available on NCII’s website. Read more

Dyslexia is one of the main challenges we address here at Read Naturally. For dyslexia awareness month, we want to point you toward the myriad ways in which a Read Naturally intervention can help students with this learning difference. Read more

How can we make a difference for our students in the area of reading? What programs do we choose? How do we know these approaches will reach each student where they are? How can I help my students’ parents understand what they are supposed to do to support their child in the area of reading? These are all questions that educators reflect on regularly. Read more

Dyslexia exists in all cultures and all languages. However, it does not impact learners in every culture in equal measure; the severity of dyslexia’s impact partially depends on the language a person is learning to read. Read more

In recognition of Dyslexia Awareness Month, Read Naturally begins a series of articles designed to build knowledge around the learning disorder of dyslexia. This first article summarizes the remarkable discovery of the language disorder over 140 years ago. Read more

Dear Read Naturally Supporters,
We had another blog post planned for today, but it feels more important to write directly to you and acknowledge the incredible sadness our communities are facing right now. Being based in the Twin Cities, we’ve witnessed the tragic events of the past week unfolding in our own neighborhoods, not far from where Read Naturally began. Like you, we are committed to showing up for all students and all communities in pursuit of a more just world. We believe that helping students of all backgrounds achieve literacy is one step toward that goal—but we know there is an incredible amount of work yet to be done. Read more

Whenever I’m grappling with a difficult question, I remember the wise words of my favorite teacher. “Maybe this is not an either/or situation,” she once told me. “Maybe it’s a both, and.” In a world that often urges us to take sides and to feel only one way about something, it can be helpful to remember that a productive way forward frequently lies somewhere in the both, and. This wisdom can be applied to many situations, including… yes… effective reading intervention. Read more

​To advance literacy worldwide over the next decade, what topics do educators need to focus on? The International Literacy Association (ILA) recently put this question out to 1,443 literacy professionals from 65 countries and territories in the 2020 What’s Hot in Literacy survey. With the ultimate goal of better outcomes for students, this reputable report highlights the most critical topics in literacy and identifies areas that need more support. Read more