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Last year, we rolled out one of our most exciting Read Live innovations to date: Independent Placement! This feature allows newly enrolled Read Live students to complete the placement process independently--saving teachers valuable time! Independent Placement uses speech recognition technology to analyze students' fluency as they read placement stories. Based on this data, the program assigns students an appropriate level and goal so they can begin working in Read Live as efficiently as possible. If you intend to take advantage of this amazing new feature, here are some tips:

To decide Read Live program(s) to assign, you need to determine the student's instructional needs via placement and assessment.

Congratulations to Mikiah, our first Star of the Month for the 2024-25 school year! Mikiah attends Manton Middle School in Manton, MI, where he made fantastic progress in Read Live as a sixth-grader last year. Here is what his teacher, Ms. Bottrall, wrote about him:

The start of the school year is all about getting to know your new students—their personalities, their interests, and their individual needs. Determining which students need extra support in reading, and what that support should look like, are some of the most important decisions you’ll make this year. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Educators can choose from a number of reputable assessments to screen for reading concerns. From there, Read Naturally can help you interpret the data and choose the appropriate intervention.

Word Warm-ups Live, included in all Read Live subscriptions, helps students solidify the phonics skills they need in order to become fluent readers. Individualized assessment allows for differentiated instruction for each student—meeting individual needs. While all students in the class are working on phonics at the same time, each student is working on specific skills identified by the assessment. This program is highly customizable and works well in a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS).

Who needs phonics support? Allow our QPS diagnostic phonics assessment to answer this question for you quickly and effectively. Did you know the latest edition of this popular tool allows you to assess an entire group of students at once and then use this data to determine which students need a more in-depth, individual phonics assessment? Both the group assessment and the individual assessment are now included in QPS, making it easier than ever for you to identify which students need phonics support and which skills an intervention should target.

What kind of learning can happen on the first day of school? Naturally, students will learn who you are, the rules of your classroom, and where to put their materials. Our hope is that they will do some effective work toward their literacy goals too. Is it realistic to expect this on day one? With One Minute Reader Live, it certainly is!

In the past year, we’ve made significant enhancements to Read Live in order to accelerate student progress and maximize teacher efficiency. As you prepare for the upcoming school year, familiarize yourself with all of these updates, which include student-independent placement, data mentor, a host of changes to make the onboarding process more efficient, and much more!

Late last year, a teacher in need of a high-quality phonics program started using GATE+ with her students. She was so impressed with the quality and ease-of-use that she showed the program to her colleagues. They quickly realized they wanted GATE+ for their classrooms too. The teacher picked up the phone and ordered four more sets of GATE+! This is the kind of feedback we've been getting in the months since GATE+ started shipping. As soon as teachers realize how well this program works, they can't wait to spread the word.

If you’ve ever had questions about how certain phonics sounds should be pronounced, our Audio Examples of Phonics Sounds page is your new best friend. This page includes an audio demo of the phonics sounds and patterns you and your students will come across in phonics instruction and assessment. It’s also a handy guide to interpreting those breves (˘), and macrons (−).

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

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