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If you look at q p d and b, it’s no wonder emerging readers tend to confuse them. These letters have similar forms, and many students who are learning to read and write tend to reverse, rotate, or invert them. They are part of a group of letters known as visually confusing letters.

When will your students finally learn to spell the word “finally”? Maybe when they learn to spell the word “maybe.” “Especially” is an especially hard word to spell, and let’s not even discuss how our friends at school spell the words “friends” and “school.” They’re probably all spelling “probably” and "too" wrong, too, and why does everybody seem to spell “everybody”—and “everything”—wrong?

The other day, my son asked me why blizzards are hazardous. The most interesting part of his question was the way he said the word hazardous. He pronounced it incorrectly, with a​ long a: HAYzardous. This told me he’d never heard the word spoken aloud before. However, when I probed him on the word’s meaning, he knew it exactly. How?

Nothing motivates a struggling reader more than experiencing his or her own success. That’s why Read Naturally programs incorporate goals and progress monitoring graphs to show students continuous proof of their improvement. Students are even more motivated when teachers and parents help celebrate this success. If you’re looking for ways to show your Read Naturally students how awesome they are, here are some ideas:

Although the default settings in Read Live tend to work well for most students, the program is highly customizable. Teachers who adjust the program settings to suit the diverse needs of their students often find that a slight tweak is all it takes to help a struggling student soar. How can teachers change the default settings? And when are such changes indicated?

The Holiday Season is upon us, along with all the extra student excitement that makes this time of year oh-so-special. By this point in the school year, Read Naturally students have become more competent in reading and are advancing through stories and levels more quickly. How can you empower them to keep up their skills over winter break?

At Read Naturally, we value educating teachers as much as we value educating students. In order for struggling readers to become fluent readers, teachers must learn the best ways to support these students. We believe all teachers should have access to this information, which is why we offer a variety of teacher training resources free of charge.

My first grader came to the last section of his “Halloween word problems” math worksheet yesterday and let out a giant groan. The instruction was, “Now write a Halloween word problem of your own.” It was challenging enough for him to read and then solve the problems. Now he had to write one, too? “But writing takes forever!” he complained.

After working with a boy named Mathias for a couple of weeks, Read Naturally founder Candyce Ihnot had a hunch that she had placed him in the wrong level. How could she be sure? And what could she do to correct her mistake? The answer was to check his initial placement. Then, after Candyce found the appropriate level and goal for Mathias, she came up with a creative solution to ensure his needs were being met.

With roughly a month of school under your belt, you’re likely aware now of which students qualify for a reading intervention. You may soon find yourself with a group of students who are brand new to Read Naturally. This is an important moment. Communicating your expectations clearly will set the stage for success.

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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