RN Bookmark

Back to All Posts

Raise your hand if you've ever heard a child joyfully declare, "X is for Xylophone!"?

Welcome to the home stretch! For most schools across the nation, winter break is just a couple days away. We hope your students’ time at home will allow them to get lost in the pages of a book beneath a cozy blanket. Last week’s blog post offers several free activities and ideas to help your students boost their literacy skills at home. Before you send them on their way, we want to reiterate the importance of just one: Reading aloud.

Are you looking for a professional development opportunity that’s practical, applicable, accessible, AND affordable?
Read Naturally is proud to partner with Keys to Literacy to offer a fantastic professional development opportunity for K to Grade 3 educators. Offered this winter and spring, the Keys to Beginning Reading course provides the knowledge needed to teach the components of beginning reading.

Congrats to our December Star of the Month for the 2023-2024 school year, Karlee! Karlee is a 3rd grader at Lead-Deadwood Elementary School in Deadwood, SD. She greatly improved her wpm and is a leader for those around her! Here is what Karlee's teacher, Ms. Hess, had to say about her:

Regardless of where kids are on their reading journey, there are countless ways to incorporate reading into cozy days at home this winter. Here are some easy ideas for kids to try at home or for teachers to incorporate into the classroom. The free printables in this post will also make a great packet to send home over winter break!

In the literacy education landscape, one-minute timings often find themselves at the center of discussion—and sometimes misconception.  

Critics argue that these timings only foster stress and promote speed reading. It’s true that one-minute timings, when introduced without proper framing, can indeed lead to stress or a misguided emphasis on speed. But that isn’t the whole truth. When used in an appropriate way, one-minute timings can be a highly useful tool. 

When it comes to teaching children to read, the importance of a quality phonics program cannot be overstated. With so many options available, it can be challenging to determine which program will best suit the needs of your students.

This Thanksgiving season, consider some literacy-boosting ways to encourage your students to reflect on what they’re grateful for. We created a bunch of free gratitude-themed resources we think you and your students will love!

Claire Ihnot Hayes is an Educational Consultant for Read Naturally who meets with educators nationwide to train them in Read Naturally programs. One of the most frequent questions Claire receives from educators is, “How can I adapt Read Naturally programs to meet the various needs of my students?” Older students, younger students, and ELL students have different needs and thus require different adjustments. We recently sat down with Claire to document her favorite tips for adapting Read Naturally Live to optimize success for a diverse body of students. These tips work for Encore students as well.

Congrats to our November Star of the Month for the 2023-2024 school year, Judith! Judith is an 8th grader at DuBois Middle School in Pittsfield, MA. She has worked hard learning English as a second language and is now reading over 140 wpm in English! Here is what Judith's teacher, Ms. Viggiano, had to say about her:

Make Your Student a STAR!

Read Naturally Star of the Month​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!

pointer Submit a Star-of-the-Month entry

Categories

Archive

Contact

Please let us know what questions you have so we can assist. For Technical Support, please call us or submit a software support request.

 
Click to refresh image