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At Read Naturally, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to become a confident, capable reader—including students in the upper elementary, middle, and high school grades who may still need targeted literacy support. That is why we are excited to announce a partnership with Engaging Learners, a team of experienced, nationally recognized literacy leaders focused on helping educators bring the Science of Reading to grades 4–12. 

Led by Dr. Katie McKnight and Dr. Jenny French, Engaging Learners provides in-person, personalized professional development that equips teachers with the tools to engage students and improve literacy skills. Their approach emphasizes both the instructional content students need and the teaching practices that help educators deliver that instruction effectively. As partners, Engaging Learners and Read Naturally provide middle grade educators with practical knowledge about what students need in order to become better readers while highlighting the evidence-based instructional strategies built into Read Naturally solutions.  

A Natural Alignment Around Grades 4–12 Literacy 

For many years, the Science of Reading conversation has focused heavily on early literacy. Yet educators know that reading challenges do not end after third grade. Students in grades 4–12 are expected to read increasingly complex texts in every subject area, and when students struggle with decoding, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension, those challenges can affect learning in science, social studies, math, English language arts, and beyond. 

Engaging Learners’ work centers on this important gap. Their book, The Science of Reading for Grades 4–12: Every Subject, Every Day!, offers more than 60 classroom strategies designed to help educators strengthen students’ reading skills while building content knowledge. The book includes strategies and interventions that teachers can incorporate into every subject area. It also helps teachers see literacy as a shared responsibility across the school day. 

Engaging Learners’ approach to literacy instruction aligns closely with Read Naturally’s mission and evidence-based reading solutions. Read Naturally has always focused on developing struggling readers’ reading skills through efficient, effective programs like Read Naturally Live; this is especially important for older students who need tailored differentiation to catch up to their peers. The nonfiction text in Read Live programs bridges the gap between learning to read and reading to learn and is not condescending for older students. The semi-independent approach of Read Live programs allows older students to practice on their own while still emphasizing the importance of the teacher-student connection. Together, Read Naturally and Engaging Learners offer educators both a practical framework for understanding adolescent readers and tools to support daily implementation of key strategies. 

Webinar with Engaging Learners: Literacy Research Meets Classroom Practice

To introduce this partnership and share practical ideas for grades 4–12 educators, Read Naturally is thrilled to announce a free webinar with Dr. McKnight and Dr. French. During our conversation, we explore why adolescent literacy matters now, how secondary teachers can support readers in every subject, and how educators can identify and respond to different reader needs—including students who struggle with decoding, fluency, or comprehension. 

Educators will come away with a clearer understanding of how structured literacy practices can be embedded into daily instruction and how targeted interventions can help striving readers make meaningful progress. In the webinar, Dr. McKnight and Dr. French also discuss how programs like Read Naturally Live can support struggling adolescent readers. 

"Eighty percent of school initiatives fail on an annual basis. And literacy cannot be just another failed initiative. So it has to be the thing that we get right."  —Dr. Jenny French 

Watch the webinar

Meet Us at AMLE 

Read Naturally and Engaging Learners will also connect with educators at the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) conference, taking place November 5–7 in Nashville.  

Visit the Read Naturally booth (# 301) during the conference to meet the Read Naturally and Engaging Learners teams, pick up a signed copy of Engaging Learners’ most recent book, spin the prize wheel, and learn more about our literacy solutions.  

AMLE presentations: 

• November 6, 11:20 AM Why Most School Change Efforts Fail (and What to Do Instead), Engaging Learners’ Jenny French and Katie McKnight
   
• November 6, 2:05 PM Smart Strategies for Better Reading Fluency, Vocabulary and Comprehension, Read Naturally's Diana Phillips
   
• November 7, 8:30 AM Transforming Evidence Writing Instruction Across Content Areas (with AI Support), Engaging Learners’ Jenny French and Katie McKnight 

Whether you are a classroom teacher, literacy coach, interventionist, curriculum leader, or administrator, the outcomes of our partnership with Engaging Learners are designed to support the work you are already doing to help students read to learn with confidence.