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 March is National Reading Awareness Month, and ReadAloud.org is asking families everywhere to commit to reading aloud with their children for at least 15 minutes each day for 21 straight days. The goal of this 21-Day Challenge is to make reading aloud a universal habit. Direct parents/guardians to sign up for the challenge anytime this month. Free downloads, including bookmarks, trackers, calendars, posters, certificates and more help make the challenge exciting for students and parents alike.
Read more As today’s world moves at a relentless pace, educators are being asked to do the impossible: they’re expected to keep their classrooms up to date when research, technology, and best practices seem to evolve on a daily basis. How can we get to the bottom of anything when the landscape is constantly changing? Creating structure where we can is the best way to mitigate the chaos. In this spirit, the International Literacy Association recently created the first-ever set of national standards to guide literacy professionals.
Read more Imagine that a fourth grader comes home from school raving about a math game he got to play on an iPad at school. He asks his mom if he can continue playing the game at home. The mom finds the free game online, and it seems legit, so she agrees. A little extra math practice can’t hurt, right? But when she goes to check on her son a short while later, it’s clear he’s not using the game to improve his math skills at all. He’s solving problems like 2+2. He likes this “math game” because he has figured out how to make it 1% math practice and 99% just a game. (He has also weaseled his way into extra screen time.)
Read more A recent audio documentary and corresponding article from American Public Media highlight a serious problem in our country: According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, more than 60 percent of American fourth-graders are not proficient readers, and that statistic has held since testing began in the 1990s. The documentary is called Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read?, and we encourage you to check it out.
Read more If there’s one thing all teachers seem to agree on, it’s the fact that reading aloud to students is highly beneficial. Indeed, one of our most popular blog posts to date was about the magic of reading aloud to your class. This practice boosts literacy and builds community, and it is often a joyful experience for teachers and students alike. National Read Aloud Month is coming up in March, and we encourage you to start planning now for the ways you will participate.
Read more Do you have high reading comprehension? This question isn’t as easy to answer as you might think.
Read more What does active engagement really look like? A student might appear focused on a task—especially a task that involves a screen—but the kind of engagement that leads to deep learning might still be lacking. At Read Naturally, we have a special interest in student engagement. We know that active engagement is crucial to progress in reading. Therefore, we have designed all elements of our curricula to foster sustained student engagement.
Read more “How do I know if my students need Read Naturally?” Many teachers ask us this question, and our answer is always the same: “Benchmark Assessment!” Teachers determine who needs a Read Naturally intervention by assessing all students on their reading aptitude using benchmark assessment. Early in the school year (aka, right now!) is the ideal time to do this.
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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!
