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I recently worked with a second grader who showed me a paragraph he wrote about helping the “oshin.” His thoughtful ideas were right on the mark. His spelling, however, was not. When this boy reads books about the ocean, complete with pictures and context clues, he can read the word without hesitation. But when I later showed him the word “ocean” on its own, he had no idea what it said. What’s going on here? Read more

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. Read more

Is it possible to teach prosody, or do students simply learn it naturally? Tim Shanahan, a leader of the National Reading Panel and former first grade teacher, believes that evidence supports direct teaching of prosody as part of fluency. Read more

Your struggling readers have likely asked themselves, or you, “Why is reading hard for me?” Sometimes, there is not a clear reason. With a little extra help, many struggling readers are simply able to crack the code and catch up. Other times, there is a clear reason: For millions of students, it’s dyslexia. Unfortunately, many individuals with dyslexia remain undiagnosed and have a more difficult time catching up to their peers. Read more

If there’s one book series my second grader is crazy about, it’s Dog Man. You might know a kid or two who shares this obsession. The books are graphic novels in which bathroom humor, slime fights, and a time-traveling hot dog stand feature prominently. How do I feel about my son’s literature choices? Initially, I’ll admit, I struggled. Read more

Carol Dweck’s groundbreaking mindset research has been all the rage in education circles for a number of years now. Her research shows that students with growth mindsets—those who welcome a challenge and believe they can improve with effort—perform better than students with fixed mindsets who tend to avoid difficult tasks and who believe certain traits, like intelligence, can’t be grown.

Teachers can help nurture the growth mindset, and many have made it a priority to do so in their classrooms. But what, exactly, does this look like? Many people understand Dweck’s research to mean we should encourage and praise effort, not outcomes. But this understanding misses the mark. Read more

Churchill Elementary School in Cloquet, MN was named a 2022 Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education for "Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing." It was the only Elementary School in Minnesota to receive this recognition. Read Naturally Live is a big part of the school’s success. Read more

In their daily lives, most adults read silently far more frequently than they read aloud. The same is true of older students. Silent reading comprehension is, after all, the skill needed to perform well on tests and in academics in general. Does this mean teachers of older students should stop spending time on oral reading fluency? Literacy expert Dr. Tim Shanahan addresses this question in his blog post, Fluency Instruction for Older Kids, Really? We completely agree with his response—and so does the research. Read more

To achieve fluency, a student must read with appropriate rate, expression, and accuracy. All three components are required for fluency, but are they equally important? Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D., is a reading researcher and Read Naturally supporter who has devoted her career to studying fluency. In this guest post, she discusses accuracy as the foundational component of fluency. Read more

National assessment scores were released on Monday, October 24, and results show a significant decline in reading proficiency. Here's how Read Naturally programs can help. Read more