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Churchill Elementary School in Cloquet, MN was named a 2022 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for "Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing." It was the only Elementary School in Minnesota to receive this recognition. Read Naturally Live is a big part of the school’s success. Read more

In their daily lives, most adults read silently far more frequently than they read aloud. The same is true of older students. Silent reading comprehension is, after all, the skill needed to perform well on tests and in academics in general. Does this mean teachers of older students should stop spending time on oral reading fluency? Literacy expert Dr. Tim Shanahan addresses this question in his blog post, Fluency Instruction for Older Kids, Really? We completely agree with his response—and so does the research. Read more

To achieve fluency, a student must read with appropriate rate, expression, and accuracy. All three components are required for fluency, but are they equally important? Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D., is a reading researcher and Read Naturally supporter who has devoted her career to studying fluency. In this guest post, she discusses accuracy as the foundational component of fluency. Read more

National assessment scores were released on Monday, October 24, and results show a significant decline in reading proficiency. Here's how Read Naturally programs can help. Read more

Millions of K-12 students across the United States are English Learners (ELs). The majority of these students identify Spanish as their home language. Year after year, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Average Scores for Reading and Mathematics are significantly lower for students who are identified as ELs, in comparison to their peers who are not. It makes sense that limited English proficiency would have an impact on academic achievement where the language of instruction is English. So, what can we do to best support EL students? Read more

We are thrilled to share that Read Naturally's curriculum directors have recently been featured in two high-quality educational publications accessed by tens of thousands of educators nationwide. Our Director of Curriculum, Karen McKenna, wrote an article for THE Journal entitled 5 Ways to Add Elements of the Science of Reading to a Balanced Literacy Program. Our Assistant Director of Curriculum, Sarah Jane Schonour, wrote an article for SmartBrief Education entitled Providing Literacy Intervention, Support Within MTSS. 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

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

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