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The word “troubleshooting” is the theme of this year’s Read Naturally lab! We’ve experienced a whole new way of teaching and making the best out of distance learning. At the beginning of the year, our school was lucky enough to be in session full-time, every day. This allowed for a somewhat normal Read Naturally schedule. However, due to the Covid19 situation, the school no longer allowed volunteers in the building. With 3 classes of 8-10 students, we were still in need of extra teachers. Zoom to the rescue! Read more

We have just about made it through the first semester of the school year, and we want to make certain that we are teaching our students vocabulary skills to the highest level possible. Among the very common questions we contemplate throughout the school year, there are always those questions of how we can reach our students and increase their level of mastery. How can we have our students dig deeper and increase their level of mastery? Read more

The most rewarding part of a Read Naturally intervention—for both students and teachers—is the progress students make. By this point in the school year, you likely have several students who have made significant gains in fluency, comprehension, or both. When you notice this growth, it’s time to assess whether the student needs an extra challenge in the form of a goal or level increase. Typically, you’ll make such a change after a student has completed 12 stories at his/her current level. Here are the signs it’s time to raise the goal or level: Read more

Striving readers need systematic phonics instruction. Word Warm-ups Live was developed to help students improve word recognition, learn to use word patterns to decode rapidly, read words with featured patterns in connected text, decode increasingly difficult phonetically regular words, and reinforce featured phonics skills through spelling. Read more

With the addition of Word Warm-ups Live, we’ve expanded our phonics offerings to reach a greater number of students and to provide more flexibility. It is our hope that any student in need of phonics support can benefit from our programs. The first step, of course, is to determine who needs that support. We offer a general phonics assessment, Quick Phonics Screener, as well as an assessment specifically for Word Warm-ups Live. What’s the difference, and how will you use these assessments to understand your students’ phonics needs? Read more

We recently expanded Read Live to include Word Warm-ups Live—an effective solution for students who need extra phonics support. Read Live now includes the Read Naturally Live Sequenced/Idioms Series, the Read Naturally Live Phonics Series, and Word Warm-ups Live. Which of these programs is the best fit for your students? Read more

As summer draws to a close, teachers and students everywhere are gearing up to begin a school year unlike any other. Task forces across the nation are pondering the question of how to meet students’ educational needs while also keeping the public safe. These leaders cannot rely on precedent to guide them—pandemic schooling is a brand-new reality. However, Hurricane Katrina is one event in recent history that can provide clues about how to resolve the learning losses caused by a long-term disruption in regular schooling. Read more

Read Naturally founder Candyce Ihnot continued her work with students in the Read Naturally reading lab at Faithful Shephard School this past school year. When schools moved to distance learning, Candyce met with Read Naturally Lead Teacher Sarah Voelbel to develop a plan. Their priority was to keep students engaged and to ensure the students could continue building their reading skills. Candyce and Sarah’s plan to combine Read Live and Zoom worked out better than expected. Below, Sarah shares her reflection on the experience. Read more

Distance-learning fatigue has likely set in for everyone by now. As summer break draws closer, it can feel even harder for teachers and students to stay focused. But we owe it to our students—now more than ever—to make these last few weeks count. Allow the Read Naturally team help you out with a bunch of free resources. These resources can easily be sent to students to complete at home. Read more

Every year around this time, we like to provide educators with resources to help their students combat the Summer Slide in reading. This year, students are also facing a potential “COVID Slide” due to the extended disruption of typical classroom learning. The collision of the COVID Slide into the Summer Slide might sound like, well… a bit of a disaster. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be. Read more