Child reading at home

We're closing in on winter break, so naturally your students are calm, on-task, and doing their best learning... right?

More likely, they seem to have entered "break mode" a few days ago. We know how these things go. That's why we've pulled together some recommendations to: 1) get you through the rest of 2024, and 2) keep your students reading over the break.

Here are our tips:

One Minute Reader Live

For students using Read Live, take advantage of One Minute Reader Live, an independent reading tool built into the program. One Minute Reader Live is a fun way for students to build their literacy skills independently during the school day. It's also a great way to keep them reading at home! To set students up to use One Minute Reader Live at home over the break, follow these steps:

1) Use this form to supply parents with the necessary login information. If you choose not to use this form, make sure parents have the following information:

2) Before the break, make sure your Read Naturally Live settings require a teacher to be present for the Cold Timing Step. This way, if a student decides to poke around in Read Naturally Live over the break, that student will not be able to get past the Cold Timing step and will thus not be able to affect any Read Naturally Live data.

3) It's also a good idea to change your password before the break begins. After a couple months of secretly watching you type it in, many students have probably memorized it.

4) Check Story Options in Read Live to make sure the One Minute Reader Live levels you want the student to work in are turned on for that student.

Free Winter Printables

All students will love our free winter printables, which include a service activity, bookmarks, a scavenger hunt, and more. Download these free resources for some classroom fun, or send them home as a packet for your students to work on over break.

Suggestions for Parents

At Read Naturally, we know teachers... and we also know parents. Chances are, more than a few of them are still scrambling for gift ideas for their kids. Which books are flying off your classroom shelves this year? Which series are their favorites? Which books did you read aloud that had the class rapt with attention or roaring with laughter? Parents will LOVE your suggestions--and kids are more likely to read at home when they have interesting books to pick from.

Reading Trackers

With the break coming up, students will hopefully have more time to enjoy reading at home both independently and with family and friends. Remind them of the importance of reading aloud with loved ones, as well as reading on their own.  Have students complete the read-aloud log or the snowflake wall activity to track their progress. Consider setting goals of how much or how many days they should read over the break, and offer small prizes for those who meet the goals. Tracking progress is highly motivating, for reluctant readers especially!

Our sincere hope is that YOU get to enjoy some relaxing reading time over the break as well! Happy holidays from all of us at Read Naturally.