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As another school year winds down, we’re taking a moment to look back at the blog posts that resonated most with our readers in the 2024–2025 school year. These top ten posts reflect your commitment to your students, your colleagues, and to literacy instruction in general. Whether you’re revisiting a favorite or catching up on one you missed, we hope you enjoy this roundup of the most-read and most-shared Read Naturally blog posts of the school year.

10. Spelling and the Science of Reading
In tenth place is a post about how spelling is so much more than rote memorization. Spelling is all about understanding phonics patterns and sound-symbol relationships. This post explored how to effectively teach spelling by deepening students’ understanding of phonics.

9. 5 Meaningful Ways for Students to Honor Their Teachers
From handwritten notes to acts of kindness, our ninth-place post offered ideas for students to express appreciation for the educators who make a difference every day. Many classrooms used it to spark thoughtful conversations during Teacher Appreciation Week.

8. The Importance of Home Language Literacy
Our eighth most popular post emphasized how a strong foundation in a student’s home language can support English literacy. Educators working with multilingual learners found both encouragement and practical tips here.

7. Fluency: A Byproduct of Decoding?
In seventh place was a post that sparked conversation about fluency as a distinct skill that, even after extensive phonics instruction, often requires a dedicated effort. Readers appreciated the detailed explanation of what fluency is and what it really takes for students to become fluent readers.

6. Free Resources for Our Wonderful Teachers
We can never thank teachers enough—but our sixth-place post tried! Packed with printable posters, planning tools, and classroom resources, this collection of free resources was one of the most appreciated posts of the year.

5. Free Resources for Summer
Teachers loved our fifth-place post, which is full of free, high-quality literacy resources to support students during the summer months. Whether used for school programs or sent home in backpacks, these materials aim to keep learning going all summer long.

4. Boosting Comprehension With Read Live
Our fourth most popular post of the school year highlighted how the Read Live platform includes several comprehension strategies as part of its instruction. Teachers learned how to ensure students are meeting their comprehension goals as they work through Read Live stories.

3. Dr. Jan Hasbrouck Recommends Timing the Quick Phonics Screener
When Dr. Jan Hasbrouck offers advice, educators listen. Our third most popular post of the year explained her recommendation to time the Quick Phonics Screener assessment and how this simple change can enhance instructional decision-making.

2. Recommendations for Teaching the Schwa Sound
Our second-place post is all about the most notorious phonics pattern in the English language: the schwa! The schwa sound can be tricky for students and teachers alike. This post provided practical strategies for helping learners decode and spell words with the schwa, complete with examples and classroom-friendly tips.

1. The Birth of Dyslexia: The Early Brain Science of 19^th-Century Medicine
And finally, our most popular post of the 2024-2025 school year was an informative post about dyslexia. This post took readers back in time to explore how the term “dyslexia” first came into use—and how our understanding of it has evolved. Teachers and specialists appreciated the historical context for this common learning difference.

Thank you for being part of our Read Naturally community this year. We’re grateful for your dedication to your students and for your engagement with the ideas and resources we share. Stay tuned—more great content is coming your way!

Let us know: Which of these blog posts was your favorite? What would you like us to cover next year?