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To determine if a student is a good candidate for a reading intervention like Read Naturally, teachers will rely on the data from benchmark assessment. Clear, well-organized assessment data allows teachers to make these important decisions efficiently and accurately. Teachers love our web-based benchmark assessment program, Benchmark Assessor Live, because it is easy to administer and it presents straightforward, automatically generated, and detailed reports. Read more

If you work with beginning or developing readers, chances are you’ve encountered a student who has difficulty identifying certain lowercase letters. While uppercase letters are more easily distinguished, lowercase letters like b, d, p, and q—which look very similar—tend to cause confusion. Read more

There are certain kids who want to do everything fast. Do you know any? Their inclination to race through the world seems built into their DNA, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. These kids are often eager to raise their hands, respond to problems, and try new things (not to mention excel in sports like Track & Field). But, as you know, these kids often need to be taught to slow down in their schoolwork. Putting forth their best effort is more important than being the first to finish. Read more

Placement is one of the most important tasks you’ll do as a Read Naturally educator. When a student is working in the correct level of material with an appropriate goal, he or she will be able to make optimal gains in reading. While it is the student’s responsibility to work toward these gains, it is your responsibility to determine the correct level and goal. Read more

The school year is in full swing, which means you’ve already corrected dozens of spelling mistakes in your students’ work. Do you find yourself correcting the same words over and over? How many times a week do you encounter the infamous “alot”? Will your students ever learn to spell the word “probably”? Read more

Do you know a student who needs support in both fluency and phonics? If so, we encourage you to check out Read Naturally’s Phonics series. The Phonics series is a group of levels offered within Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Encore. Students working in the Phonics levels focus on specific phonics skills while simultaneously building fluency. 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

Welcome back to school! Most Read Naturally users are either preparing to get started with the program or have already begun. We’re here to help you start the school year off on the right foot. Did you know we have detailed outlines on our website for exactly that purpose? 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. Read more

Quick Phonics Screener (QPS), developed by renowned literacy expert Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, is one of our most popular assessment tools. Teachers who have used QPS can attest to the fact that it is a convenient, inexpensive, and accurate way to identify individual students’ strengths and instructional needs in phonics/decoding. Once these needs are identified, teachers can make informed decisions about how to support students in their literacy development. We are pleased to announce that this handy tool is now upgraded and better than ever! Read more