Teacher

Are your students inexplicably saying the numbers 6 and 7 all day? Whether they’re 6 or 7 years old, in 6th or 7th grade, or 67, Read Naturally has appropriate content for them! 

Many reading solutions are mainly geared toward younger students. The educators on the Read Naturally team have been aware of this problem since well before the company began in 1991. From the beginning, we have insisted that our programs feature high-interest, nonfiction content. The primary reason for this is so that a Read Naturally intervention can work for a learner of any age. The decodable "The cat sat on the mat" text that is common in early reading material can feel patronizing to older learners—and this feeling can impede progress. Conversely, Read Naturally’s nonfiction stories, which are sprinkled with interesting facts that most adults don’t know, appeal to learners of any age.

Literacy is one of the most important tools a person can possess—and all learners, no matter what age, should be given the opportunity to acquire it. In keeping with the 6-7 theme, here are some examples of how our solutions can work for students of all ages:

  • A 6- or 7-year-old student who knows letter sounds can develop phonemic awareness and phonics skills with our GATE+ program, a small-group or classroom solution for beginning readers. If the student knows beginning sounds and some words, they can use the early phonics levels in Read Naturally Live or Encore to develop phonics and fluency skills simultaneously. The student can also benefit from targeted phonics instruction in Word Warm-ups Live. For fluency practice, the student can work in the early sequenced levels of Read Naturally Live or in Level E or Level 1 of One Minute Reader Live.
  • A 6th or 7th grader who is reading below grade level and needs content that does not feel babyish can benefit from the Read Naturally Live or Encore level that aligns with their reading level. Yes, we have a level 6 and a level 7--but those are just two of the 19 levels we offer in these programs! This student can also solidify phonics and spelling skills with Word Warm-ups Live, which spans from letter sounds through multisyllabic words. The engaging stories in One Minute Reader Live can provide extra independent fluency practice. If the student needs comprehension support, their teacher can deliver any of the lessons in Comprehension Builder. To further develop academic vocabulary, the student can use our Take Aim! at Vocabulary program.
  • A 67-year-old struggling reader can use the Read Naturally Live, One Minute Reader Live, or Encore level that aligns with their reading level; the Word Warm-ups Live level that matches their phonics needs; the Take Aim! at Vocabulary level that fits with their vocabulary needs; or the Comprehension Builder lessons that address their specific comprehension challenges.

All of our programs provide multiple options for differentiation to meet each student's individual needs. Teachers can easily adapt them to make them work for the youngest learners, the oldest learners, and everyone in between. Take a look at our list of programs and note the “skill level” listed for each one. This range, e.g., grades 1–8, indicates that the content is delivered at first- through eighth-grade reading levels. This means that any person reading who can read at a first-grade reading level but reads below an eighth-grade level can benefit from the program. 

Whether you understand your students' obsession with 6-7 or not, you can feel confident that Read Naturally has the appropriate reading solution for them. To learn more about how we can help, book an appointment with our solutions manager to discuss your specific needs.