For best results, devote your initial class sessions to teaching students how to work in the software. Students need to learn program basics, as well as how to complete the steps for passing each story.
Students complete the following series of steps to pass each story.
Students need to learn the use of common features that appear on several pages in the software. Common tasks include:
Common Features of Story Pages
To start working, a student must be enrolled in Read Live, have a Read Naturally Live license assigned to him or her, and have a series, level, and goal.
From any story page, the student can click Log Out to return to the Student Login page.
It is important for students to click Log Out rather than simply closing the browser window or walking away from the workstation. Clicking Log Out ensures that a student's session is properly closed, and that he or she will be able to easily return to the same point later.
The student navigation feature allows students to move between Read Live applications as needed.
On most story pages, the header and footer are blue and there is no message in the footer, indicating that the student is working independently and does not need teacher assistance.
When the student needs help from the teacher (to conduct a cold timing or pass activities, for example), the header and footer are red, and the footer displays the message "Waiting for Teacher." There is a yellow link in the header that the teacher can click to conduct the necessary timing or other activities.
When the teacher clicks the link and enters his or her user ID and password, the header turns blue and the message "Teacher Present" appears in the footer. The teacher should stay with the student until "Teacher Present" is no longer displayed. The teacher can then leave the student to work independently again.
On most pages, the progress bar at the top shows the student where he or she is in the steps. The step the student is currently working on is highlighted with a red pointer. As the student finishes each step, the progress bar highlights the completed step in dark blue.
If a step has been turned off in story options, the progress bar displays the word OFF for that step.
Students must complete the story steps in order. Before moving on to the next step, the student must complete the requirements for the current step. On most pages, the Next button on the bottom right becomes enabled when the student has completed all the required actions for the step. The student clicks Next to advance to the next step.
On most pages, a narrator tells the student what to do to complete the step. If the student needs to hear the instructions again, he or she can repeat the audio.
On most pages, you can check the student's current series, level, and goal information.
From any steps page, click Level | Goal in the page header to view the student's current series, level, and story goal. For students reading stories in the Phonics series, the displayed menu also includes the word list goal.
Click again to close the displayed information.
For any of the story-timing steps, students whose workstation has a mouse or other pointing device can use a reading guide to help them track words as they read each line of text. The guide highlights one line of text at a time as a student moves the cursor over the story.
Students can choose to turn the guide on or off before each story timing. During a timing, students cannot turn the reading guide on or off.
To control the reading guide on the Cold Timing, Practice, Pass/More Practice or Pass/Hot Timing steps:
Many stories have multiple pages. Students working in those stories need to know how to view additional pages. From any story step you can view additional pages in a multi-page story.
On the Select a Story page, students choose the next story to read, which gives them a sense of control.
In the Read Naturally Live Sequenced series and the Read Naturally Live–Español application, each level includes 24 stories. Students work in sets of 12 stories at a time. When they finish the first set of 12 stories in a level, they move to the second set. At the bottom of the Select a Story page, information about the student's progress is displayed:
Teachers can also move students between the two 12-story sets manually, whether or not the student has completed all of the stories in a set.
To move a student between two 12-story sets within the same level:
The Key Words step is a vocabulary step that teaches students important story words that may be challenging.
The Prediction step teaches students to prepare their minds for new information and reminds them that they are reading for meaning.
Students can advance to the next step once they have typed a prediction in the box.
The Cold Timing step enables students to see how many words they read correctly in one minute on a new story. This step sets a baseline for the story, so the student can see improvement after practicing.
By default, a teacher must be present for the Cold Timing step. During this step, especially in the first few stories, teachers check to see if each student's placement is appropriate and coach students to accurately identify their errors. To log in and oversee a Cold Timing, the teacher clicks the Conduct Cold Timing button in the header of the Wordtastic page.
Once students can identify their errors with reasonable accuracy, their teacher can set a story option to allow their students to complete this step independently.
If the teacher is required to conduct the cold timing, the student remains on the Cold Timing/Wordtastic step until the teacher logs in.
Students can complete most of the Read Naturally Live steps independently, but there are some times when a teacher must be present before a student can proceed. Wordtastic is a vocabulary game designed to keep students engaged and learning while waiting for a teacher.
By default, a teacher must be present for the Cold Timing step. If the teacher is required to conduct the cold timing, the student remains on the Cold Timing/Wordtastic page until the teacher logs in. If a teacher is not required, the student will not see the Cold Timing/Wordtastic page.
Account Administrators, School Coordinators, Teachers, and Read Live Assistants can conduct cold timings for any students, regardless of the students' lead teachers.
Students can move on to the next step once they have completed the one-minute cold timing.
If a student was interrupted during the cold timing, you can immediately retest the student. You can select this option only while you are on the Cold Timing or Cold Timing / Graph step.
To retest a student's cold timing:
The Read Along step is a modeling step, where students actively read along with a recording of the story. This step helps students learn unknown words and practice difficult words. It encourages proper pronunciation, expression, and phrasing.
Some stories have Spanish translations. You can provide additional support to Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) by having them listen to (and perhaps read along with) the translation before beginning the Read Along step in English. This way, Spanish-speaking ELLs have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the story by building some background and vocabulary knowledge (Mielke, 2011). The rest of the steps in Read Naturally Live are in English.
By default, students do not complete the Spanish read along; teachers can change this setting.
Students can move on to the next screen once they have read the Spanish translation with the narrator one time; canceled read alongs do not count.
By default, a student is required to read along three times as the narrator reads the story. Teachers can change the number of required read alongs.
See Also
The Practice step requires students to read the text until they are able to read at their assigned goal rate. In this step, students get the opportunity to master the story. By default, students are required to practice at least three times. Teachers can reduce or remove this requirement.
See Also
The Quiz step helps develop comprehension skills and reminds students to read for meaning.
The Retell step helps students develop the skill of retelling or summarizing text, and holds them accountable to read for meaning.
The Retell step is only available in some series. In the Phonics series, students complete a Word List step instead of the Retell step.
Students can advance to the next step once they retell the story by typing in the text box.
The Word List step gives students working in the Phonics series a chance to practice and master reading words that contain the featured phonics elements.
The application times students, calculating a words per minute rate for each word list attempt. When students have read the word list the required number of times, meeting their goal reading rate at least once, they can move on to the next step.
By default, students read all the words in the list twice to complete the word list timing. First they read down the columns, and then across the rows. Teachers can also change the timing duration to end timings after one minute.
To conduct a word list timing:
The Spelling step in each Read Naturally Live Phonics series story asks the student to correctly spell three words related to the story.
The student is asked to spell one word at a time. Students click the audio icon to hear each word once, along with a sentence using the word. After attempting the spelling once based on the audio, the students click Show Me to check the original spelling try against the correct spelling of the word. After making any corrections, students click Check to verify their attempt against the correct spelling.
Each time a student clicks Check, one of three possible results appears to the right of the button:
To complete the Spelling step of a Read Naturally Live Phonics story:
Notes
In the Pass step, the teacher checks to see whether students have met the pass requirements for the story. To pass, students must:
To begin pass activities, the teacher clicks the yellow Conduct Pass Activities button in the page header.
The Pass step includes these tasks:
While waiting for the teacher to arrive to conduct the hot timing, the student alternates between continuing to practice the story and playing the Wordtastic vocabulary game. Students with a browser that supports recording features can also record a reading of the story, which teachers can use for hot timings during the current story's Pass step.
Recordings
Students whose browser supports Read Naturally Live's recording features can make a recording of themselves reading the story. The recording can later be used as a hot timing. See Distance Learning Tools for a description of how recordings can be managed in distance learning settings.
Account Administrators, School Coordinators, Teachers, and Read Live Assistants can conduct hot timings for any students, whether or not they are the students' lead teachers.
To conduct a hot timing:
Distance learning students working in Read Naturally Live from home still need teachers to conduct hot timings at the end of a story.
Teachers can use the Login As feature, available in the Staff Module, to open a session as a specific student. Then it is possible to either:
Using the Login As Feature:
To log in as a specific student, use the Login As feature in the Staff Member Module:
Conducting Hot Timings With Screen Sharing Software:
Once a teacher has used Login As to open a student session, screen sharing software can be used to conduct a hot timing.
Conducting Hot Timings Using Recordings:
If a student has recorded a story or word list reading, you can use the Login As feature to grade that recording as a hot timing. If a student has saved a recording:
See Also
During each hot timing, you rate the student's expression (prosody) from 1 to 4. The expression score indicates how well the student used appropriate inflection, phrasing, and pacing while reading the story. The student must receive an expression score of 2 or higher to pass the story. Use the table below to determine the appropriate rating:
Select | If the student: |
1 | Reads haltingly; seldom uses phrasing; reads without expression. |
2 | Reads phrases of three or four words (especially for familiar words); usually pauses for punctuation. |
3 | Usually uses correct phrasing; uses appropriate inflection and attends to punctuation in some of the story. |
4 | Reads conversationally; consistently uses correct phrasing and inflection; attends to all punctuation. |
Reading with proper expression (prosody) is an important component of fluency and influences comprehension. Students need to be taught that expression matters. A simple explanation is to tell them to "try to read like you speak." Model for your students how to read with expression, grouping words into appropriate phrases rather than reading word-for-word, pausing for commas and periods, and reading at an appropriate pace.
Expression is taught during the Read Along step. The narrators in the audio recordings emphasize important words, group words into phrases, recognize punctuation marks and read at an appropriate pace, modeling for students how to read fluently. When students read along with these recordings, their expression and comprehension improve. The Practice step gives students additional opportunities to develop the ability to read more expressively and fluently. Attending to expression continues in the final Pass step of the program. During this step, teachers listen to the students read, and then rate their expression on a scale of 1-4. This piece of the final evaluation process is essential, and we encourage teachers to discuss this rating with students, especially those who struggle to read with expression. Point out students' improvement on the expression scale and remind them to notice how the narrator reads the next time they read along with a story. You may need to adjust your ratings and comments based on your understanding of and reasonable expectations for each individual student. Some common feedback teachers give to students include the following:
To help students learn to read with expression (prosody), a brief audio lesson about reading with expression will automatically play before the first read long and the first practice a student does in a level. Though this lesson will not play automatically before subsequent read alongs and practices in the level, a student can choose to play the lesson again at those points.
If a student was interrupted during the hot timing, you can immediately retest him or her. This option is available only on the Pass/Hot Timing and Pass/Hot Timing Graph steps.
To retest a student's hot timing:
To correct the quiz questions:
To correct a student's retell attempt:
Students working in the Phonics series need to complete a word list pass timing to pass each story.
To conduct a word list timing:
If a student was interrupted during the word list pass timing, you can immediately retest the student. You can select this option only while you are on the Pass/Word List step.
To retest a student's Word List pass timing:
After the student has completed the required activities on the Pass step, review the student’s results together on the Pass/Review Work step.
Read Live’s Data Mentor feature uses a student’s recent performance to give teachers data-driven suggestions intended to increase student achievement or reduce student frustration. Periodically, Data Mentor can make new suggestions at the Pass/Review Work step of a story based on updated data. Teachers can choose to accept Data Mentor’s suggestions or not, depending on their deeper knowledge of the student.
Because proper placement is critical to student success, some suggestions recommend adjustments to a student’s level or goal. Others suggest areas where the student may need additional support, like reading comprehension.
Currently, Data Mentor suggests possible changes in Read Naturally Live’s Sequenced series.
Notes:
If a student does not successfully meet one or more of the criteria for passing, after reviewing the student's work, you decide the best course of action on the Pass/Remedial Actions page.
If the student... | Then select this option: | The student will... |
---|---|---|
Reads too slowly to meet his or her goal | Practice story | Practice the story until reaching the goal and then complete another hot timing |
Made a lot of errors during the hot timing because of a lack of decoding skills or an inability to read sight words | Read along for accuracy | Read along with the narration at the slowest pace, focusing on accuracy, and then complete another hot timing |
Received a low expression score | Read along for expression | Read along with the narration at the fastest pace, focusing on expression, and then complete another hot timing |
Answered any questions incorrectly | Redo missed questions | Correct any incorrect answers |
Wrote a retell of the story that did not meet your expectations | Rework the Retell step | Revise what he or she wrote for a retell |
Failed to pass the word list | Practice word list | Practice the word list until he or she reaches the goal and then complete another word-list pass timing |
Missed passing the hot timing only by a small margin | Retest story (without selecting any other remedial actions) | Immediately complete another hot timing |
Missed passing the word list by only a small margin | Retest word list (without selecting any other remedial actions) | Immediately complete another word-list pass timing |
Has not met all of the requirements, but you want to pass the student with the current scores anyway | Pass with current scores | Not be required to go back and do any remedial work |
When a student completes a story, a Congratulations page appears with reward badges for various aspects of the student’s work on the story. Badges can appear as a gold medallion (met the basic requirement), or as a medallion with ribbons (went above and beyond).
This page can motivate students who understand that excellent performance is rewarded by ribbons. Tell students what they have to do to earn the badges and blue ribbons. Many students strive to excel so they can receive all blue ribbons.
How Students Earn Badges
Basic Requirement | Above & Beyond | |
---|---|---|
Accuracy | Student had 3 or fewer errors on the hot timing | Student had no errors on the hot timing |
Goal | Student met the goal on the hot timing | Student met the goal on the first try at the hot timing |
Expression | Student got an expression score of 2 or 3 on the hot timing | Student got an expression score of 4 on the hot timing |
Quiz | Student got all the quiz questions correct. | Student got all the quiz questions correct on the first try. |
Retell (Sequenced and Idioms stories) | Student’s retelling of the story met teacher expectations | Student’s retelling of the story met teacher expectations on the first try. |
Word List (Phonics stories only) | Student passed the word list | The student passed the word list on the first try |
Step | Explicit Instruction | Feedback |
| Set a Purpose: “Here’s where you have a choice of which story you would like to read. There are 12 stories to choose from. You are in charge and can choose the stories in any order.” Guided Practice/Modeling: “Look at the pictures and the titles to see what is interesting to you.” (Ask the student which stories they think they would like best and why.) “If you want to hear the title of the story before you decide, click on the picture. After hearing the title, you can decide to click ‘yes’ to read the story or click ‘no’ to return to the select a story screen.” | Feedback: Remind the student to choose a story quickly and provide positive feedback when they do. |
| Set a Purpose: “For this step, you will be working on vocabulary skills. When you click on a word, you will see a pop up with the definition which will be read to you. Sometimes there will be a sentence using the word or a picture to go with it. Becoming familiar with these key words will help you understand the story better. Guided Practice/Modeling: “Let’s look at the first word together. (Read the word to the student.) “Have you heard that word before? Tell me what you know about this word already. What else do you notice about this word? (Based on the age of the student, point out the parts of the word and/or identify the part of speech.) “When I’m learning a new word, I find it helpful to hear it multiple times. I’m going to read the first word for you this time. When you work on your own, the computer audio will read it to you. It’s important to focus on the audio in order to learn the words and what they mean. (Mute the sound and have the student click on the word. Pronounce the word and ask the student to repeat the word. Read the definition. Ask if the student has any questions about the definition and answer their questions. If there is a sentence, read it to the student and then ask the student to read it with you. If there is a picture, talk with the student about how the picture relates to the word.) “Let’s listen to the next one together.” (Unmute the sound and have the student click on the word. Model attentive listening as the word and definition are read aloud.) “Because I like to hear new words multiple times, I often click them again to hear them repeated. However, we don’t want to take too much time on this step so make sure you only do that a couple of times.” Gradual Release: “You’ve shown me that you know what to do in order to learn about the key words. You’re doing a good job! I’m going to work with another student while you do the rest of this step on your own.” | Feedback: Remind the student to actively listen while looking at the words on the screen and compliment them when they do. |
| Set a Purpose: “Making a prediction helps to get your brain ready to start thinking about what the story is about. That makes the story a little bit easier to understand.” Guided Practice/Modeling: “When I am making a prediction, I use the title, the picture, and key words to help me think about what I already know about this topic. (Talk with the student about the title, picture, and key words. Share what you think the story will be about. Ask them what they know about the topic.) I know I only have a couple of minutes to write my prediction, so I think of one or two sentences to write. (Decide on a sentence together.) Then I type my prediction. I read it to see if it makes sense before clicking Next.“ (Ask the student if they feel comfortable doing the prediction for the next story on their own.) | Feedback: If you notice (or anticipate) that the student has difficulty typing the prediction, ask them to signal the teacher the next time they get to that step. Additional Options: The student can tell the teacher their prediction and the teacher can type for them. The teacher can provide a notebook where the student can write the prediction. (Note: the student will need to type something – like a period – in the box before the Next button will be enabled.) The teacher can provide a sentence starter for the student such as, “I think this story will be about...” |
| Set a Purpose: “The cold timing will help us know how fluently you can read a brand-new story out loud. When you finish reading, we’ll see your score on the graph in blue.” “You’re going to read the story on your own. Click on any word you stop or stumble on or want to skip. I might tell you if I notice that you missed a word, but that’s ok—this is just your first read. When you’re ready, click on Start Timing and start reading.” | Feedback: As the student reads the story, quietly remind them to click on words they miss. Eventually, they will be more comfortable noticing and clicking on words they don’t know. After the timer sounds and the student clicks on the last word they read, discuss any words they missed. |
| Set a Purpose: “The read along step helps us learn to read more fluently, with expression, like we talk. When we read fluently, we understand what we read.” Guided Practice/Modeling: Read the first few sentences of the story like a robot—no expression, no pauses—or very fast. “Can you tell what the story is about/what is happening in the story when I read like that?” Read the same few sentences with expression, pausing at commas and periods and emphasizing important words. “Is it easier to understand when I read it that way? Why?” Independent Practice: Have the student practice reading the first few sentences with expression. | Feedback: If the student doesn’t pause at periods, remind them that a period is like a stop sign when you’re driving. “What happens when we ignore stop signs?” Have them go back and reread the sentence, then praise them for their efforts. |
| Set a Purpose: “The practice step is your chance to practice reading the story fluently on your own, see if you can meet your goal, and learn something new.” Show the student how to find their level and goal at the top of the screen. Guided Practice: “What do I need to remember when I’m reading? When do I pause?” Independent Practice: “Now it’s your turn. You’re going to read for one minute and click on the last word you read. Your score for each practice will show up in the box under the image.” | Feedback: After listening to the student read the first few sentences aloud, remind them to pause at periods and commas and emphasize important words. Point out their scores in the box below the image for the story and praise them for their efforts. |
| Set a Purpose: “The quiz step is your chance to show what you know by answering some questions about the story. You can go back to the story any time to find the answer.” Guided Practice: “What is this question asking me to do?” Guide the student to the purpose of each question, i.e., main idea, detail, vocabulary, and show them how to go back to the story and find the answer. Independent Practice: “Now it’s your turn to answer the questions. The computer will tell you if you’re right, and we can go back and correct the ones you miss during the review step.” | Additional Resources: If students are struggling with a particular type of comprehension question, reference the Comprehension Tips and Comprehension Builder in the Read Live Staff Module for teaching strategies for the different types of questions. Feedback: Remind the student to take their time when answering the questions and read all the answers before choosing one. |
| Retell Set a Purpose: “A main reason for reading is to learn something new. For this step, you are going to retell or summarize the story so I can see all the things you understood and remember about the story.” Guided Practice/Modeling: “When I am getting ready to write a retelling, I like to look back at the story one more time. This helps me remember what the story was about – but I can’t just copy from the story – I need to tell it in my own words. Let me show you an example.” (Show the student a retell that has already been written.) “In my retelling, I usually start with the main idea and add related details. I have some sentence starters to help you build on the details.” (Share the list of sentence starters.) Gradual Release: “Let’s write this retelling together. Tell me your ideas and I will type them. We can discuss the main idea and details as we go.” (Work on the retelling together.) You did a nice job with the retelling. Do you feel ready to do one on your own??” Word List Set a Purpose: (Think of an age-appropriate activity the student may have practiced – like tying shoes or playing a sport, an instrument, or a video game and use that example in this conversation.) “Remember when you were learning to (insert activity)? Did you do it quickly and easily the first time you tried it? Did you need to practice over and over until it became easy and automatic for you? Well, that is what practicing the word list step does. You get to practice the list multiple times in order to reach your goal. As you continue to practice, reading the words will become easier and more automatic. Soon, you won’t have to stop and think about each sound in the word – you’ll be able to read it right away.” Guided Practice/Modeling: “Let me show you what I mean.” Read the list of words down and across slowly. Then do it again with fewer pauses and more automatically. Gradual Release: “Let’s read the words together.” (Read the words with the student.) “Great job! Now it’s your turn to try it on your own.” Spelling Set a Purpose: “As you learn to read words, you can also start to learn how to spell them so you can use the words in your writing.” Guided Practice/Modeling: (Place a small whiteboard and marker in front of you and the student.) “When I am trying to spell a word, I say it very slowly and stretch it out.” (Choose a word the student is likely to know and demonstrate.) “When words rhyme, I can follow the pattern.” (Write additional rhyming words on the whiteboard.) “I’m going to say a new word slowly. Tell me the letters in the word and I’ll write them down.” (Write down what the student says.) “This is the correct spelling of the word.” (Write the correct spelling above the previously written word.) “Do they match?” (If yes…) “You got it right!” (If no…) “Let’s see what’s different and change the first word to match the correct word.” (Discuss the changes needed and show how to make the changes.) Gradual Release: (Watch for signs the student is ready to do this independently.) “It looks like you are ready to do this on your own for the spelling step.”
| Retell Feedback: If you notice (or anticipate) that the student has difficulty typing the retelling, ask them to signal the teacher the next time they get to that step. Additional Options: The student can tell the teacher their retelling and the teacher can type for them. The teacher can provide a notebook where the student can write the prediction. (Note: the student will need to type something – like a period – in the box before the Next button will be enabled.)
Word List Feedback: When a student says a word incorrectly, ask them to pause for a moment. Slowly pronounce the word by sounding it out. Then, have the student sound out the word with the teacher. Prompt the student to look at the letters in the word as they sound out the word. Finally, have the student read the word without sounding it out first.
Spelling Feedback: When comparing the correct word to an incorrect attempt, let the student know they made a good effort and show them which letters are correct (and can stay the same) and which letters are incorrect and need to be changed. |
| Set a Purpose: “Now it’s time to pass this story. This is a chance to show your improvement with the number of words you read correctly compared to the cold timing. After I score your hot timing, you’ll see a graph in red that shows how well you did. During this step, we can also see how you did on the quiz and the retell (or word list).” Guided Practice/Modeling: Gradual Release: “You seem ready for the hot timing. Do you have any questions?” (Answer any questions.) “When you’re ready, click on Start Timing and start reading.” | Feedback: Because the errors show up in the first box on the pass timing screen, it is tempting to tell the student how many words they missed. Instead, look at the second box that shows how many words they read correctly and let the student know how many words they got right. On the pass/review work screen, show the student how they did on each step. Praise them for what they did well in specific language. (For example, “Wow! You answered all of the quiz questions correctly on the first try.”) Give corrective feedback and guidance for any step that did not meet expectations. (For example, “It looks like some of the words are still tricky for you. I’d like you to go back and read along with the narrator again to practice the words in the story. Before you read along, please click on the blue words to have them read to you.”) |
If a student is struggling with a particular story and cannot pass it, you can reset the story and allow the student to try it again later. Resetting a story discards all of the student's data and scores for that story.
Account Administrators and School Coordinators, Teachers, and Read Live Assistants can reset stories for any students, regardless of the students' lead teachers. Read Live Assistants can reset stories only from a student's workstation.
To reset stories from the Student Module:
To reset stories from the Staff Member Module:
Students working in the Phonics series follow most of the same steps as students working in the Sequenced series. However, there are some differences:
When students work in Read Naturally Live–Español (RNL–Español) stories, the entire student Read Naturally Live interface is delivered in Spanish.
Note that while the default audio directions played in RNL–Español are in Spanish, English instructions can also be accessed by clicking the EN? button in the application's footer.
Teachers interacting with students in RNL–Español use an English Teacher Menu. The Pass/Review screen can be viewed in either English or Spanish, allowing teachers to discuss results with their students in whichever language is most appropriate.
Read Naturally Live–Español includes the same student steps as in the English Read Naturally Live program. The Spanish step names used in the program are as follows: