Intervention Programs

Read Naturally® Live

Component of Read Live

5 of 5 (517 reviews | add review)

Focus:
  • Fluency
  • Phonics

Additional Support:
  • Vocabulary
  • Spelling
  • Comprehension

Skill Level: Grades 1‒8
Intervention Range: Beginning Reader to Adult Learner

Accelerate achievement and develop confident learners with the most powerful intervention program for striving readers. Utilizing the proven Read Naturally Strategy on a web-based platform, Read Naturally Live combines an intrinsically motivating system with the best evidence-based practices to deliver results fast. Trusted by educators and loved by students across the country.

Read Live A Component of Read Live

Students...

  • Build fluency and motivation by reading short, nonfiction passages.
  • Increase reading accuracy and expression with audio support.
  • Strengthen comprehension and vocabulary.
  • Develop automaticity in decoding (Phonics levels).
  • Work independently most of the time.
  • Experience success and an improved attitude toward reading.

Read Naturally Live provides...

  • An interactive reading intervention, often used for RTI or MTSS implementations.
  • Options to easily differentiate the program to meet individual needs.
  • Motivating informational texts for reluctant readers, from beginning readers to adults.
  • Extensive, computer-generated reports on student progress.
  • Opportunities for teachers to work with students one-on-one.
  • Three curriculum series (Sequenced, Phonics, Idioms) with a total of 23 levels.
  • Nonfiction reading opportunities as required by state standards.
  • Spanish translations for stories in early Sequenced levels.

​Read Naturally Live is an online reading program that accelerates reading achievement by combining the research-proven strategies of teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring. A student works at his or her own pace in an appropriate level of material. Text and audio guide the student through the steps. The student masters a story by reading along with audio and then practicing the story until he or she can read it fluently and with comprehension. The program automatically tracks student progress.

pointer Research basis for the Read Naturally Strategy

Read Naturally Live is a research-based, online reading program

​Read Naturally Live Steps
  1. Select a Story
    The student clicks on the story he or she wants to read. Choosing the story deepens the student’s investment in the material.
  2. Key Words
    In the Sequenced and Idioms series, the student reads the key words and their definitions while listening to an audio recording. The key words provide definitions that are important to understanding the story. In the Phonics series, the student listens to a phonics lesson and reads words that have the featured phonics patterns.
  3. Prediction
    The student uses the title, picture, and key words to write a prediction of what he or she thinks the story is about. The prediction prepares the student’s mind for reading the story.
  4. Cold Timing
    The teacher may time the student for one minute as he or she reads the story, or the student may complete this step independently. The student clicks unknown words while reading, and then clicks the last word read during the timing. Read Naturally Live subtracts the unknown words from the total number of words attempted to obtain a cold-timing score and displays it on a graph. This step establishes a baseline for progress monitoring, the component of the Read Naturally Strategy that motivates the student to improve.
  5. Read Along
    The student reads along quietly with a recording of the story, typically three times. This step is the teacher-modeling component of the Read Naturally Strategy, which helps the student learn new words and master others as well as learn proper pronunciation, expression, and phrasing.
  6. Practice
    The student practices reading the story without audio support three to ten times until able to read it accurately, with expression, and at the goal rate. This step is the repeated-reading component of the Read Naturally Strategy, which helps the student improve fluency, master difficult words, and understand the story.
  7. Quiz
    The student answers questions about the story. Responding to the text holds the student accountable for meaning, develops the ability to answer many types of questions, and provides teachers with information about how well the student comprehends the story.
  8. Retell/Word List
    In the Sequenced and Idioms series, the student retells or summarizes the story to improve comprehension. 
    In the Phonics series, the student works on decoding skills by practicing the word list until able to read it accurately at a predetermined rate. The Phonics series also includes a spelling step to give students practice encoding words from the word list.
  9. ​Pass
    The student reads the story for the teacher to show that he or she can read it at the goal rate, with appropriate expression, and with three or fewer errors. The teacher corrects the comprehension questions and the retelling of the story (if applicable) and reviews the results with the student. 

    In the Phonics series, the student also reads the word list to show that he or she can read it with three or fewer errors at the goal rate. ​A graph shows how much the student’s fluency has improved since the cold timing.

    ​ Additional graphs show results for the comprehension questions, the retelling, and the word lists (if applicable).

Read Naturally Live is a component of Read Live, a subscription program that is licensed per student. Teachers can reassign licenses if students leave the program. Read Live subscriptions include access to all 23 levels of three series. All series have the same basic design with strategic differences.

  • Sequenced series is the basic series and has 13 levels (1.0 – 8.0) with 24 stories per level.
  • Phonics series adds phonics lessons and activities to the basic design and has 6 levels (0.8 – 2.7) with 24 stories per level.
    pointer Phonics elements taught in the Phonics series
  • Idioms series teaches common American idioms as students work on reading skills.  Idioms has 4 levels (3.0 – 4.5) with 12 stories per level.
    pointer Featured idioms
  • Built-in assessments to align fluency placement with phonics/word analysis needs.

The teacher assigns the appropriate series, level and goal for each student using Read Naturally Live’s built in placement. The student works through the level in the student program, and the teacher manages the student's progress in the teacher program.

STUDENT PROGRAM

Read Naturally Live Story

High-interest, leveled, nonfiction stories include:
  • Key words, clickable vocabulary words, and comprehension activities.
  • Spanish translation of each story in Sequenced levels 1.0 – 5.6.
Extensive audio support includes:
  • Audio directions for each step of the process.
  • Guidance audio to instruct and remind students to read with expression.
  • Three appropriately paced story recordings that model correct pronunciation and expression.
  • Pronunciation of words in stories when clicked.
  • Audio definitions of key words, or, in the Phonics series, an audio phonics lesson.
  • Clickable vocabulary words with audio-supported, student-friendly definitions.
  • Spanish translation of each story in Sequenced levels 1.0 – 5.6.
  • Auditory signals that indicate if a student's responses to multiple choice items are correct or incorrect.
Structured instructional process includes:
  • Automated steps built around teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring.
  • A wait-time vocabulary-building activity.
Computerized scoring and extensive reports include:
  • Automated correction of multiple-choice questions.
  • Calculation of fluency, phonics, and comprehension scores.
  • Graphs and reports showing student performance.

TEACHER PROGRAM

Read Live Graph

Set up of account for district, building, classroom, staff, and/or students include:
Management of student programs includes:
  • Placement of each student in a level and series with an appropriate reading-rate goal.
  • Easily customized options for individual students and extensive student reports.
  • Printable stories, reports, parent letters, awards, and completion certificates.
Online documentation includes:
  • Step-by-step instructions for working in the software and "how to" section on setting up Read Naturally Live.
  • A lesson plan for introducing the program to students.
  • Training videos that explain how to set up the software and work with students in the program.

ONLINE RESOURCES AND TECH SUPPORT

To help you implement Read Live successfully, Read Naturally provides free web resources and tech support.
pointer Learn more about Read Naturally's online resources and tech support

Read Naturally Live is an integrated component of the Read Live platform.

  • Students At-a-Glance Report
    This report includes a student-by-student summary of results for Read Naturally Live stories passed. This report is used to quickly identify students who may not be making adequate progress in fluency and comprehension and therefore may require adjustments in their programs or additional instruction.
  • Student Level Summary Report
    This is a table summarizing results for each story a student has passed at a given Read Naturally Live level, including cold- and hot-timing results, number of practices, quiz results, and more.
  • Student Fluency Graph
    This bar chart displays a student's cold- and hot-timing scores for all stories passed in a specified series and level.
  • Student Comprehension Graph
    This graph shows the quiz questions a student answered correctly on the first try for each story in a specified level. Quiz results are reported by question type and story.
  • Student Retell Graph
    This graph shows the number of words a student used to retell each completed story on the first try and whether or not the student met the teacher's expectations on the first try.
  • Word List Graph
    This graph shows how long it took a student to read the word list on the most recent attempt for each story the student completed in a specified level.
  • Story Details Report
    This report provides a student's detailed results for a specific Read Naturally Live story.​
  • Student Placement Results
    This report shows the results of a student’s placement test conducted using the Read Naturally Live placement program—the test results, recommendations, and decision.

Read Naturally Live is an integrated component of the Read Live platform. All Read Live licenses enable full access to the Read Naturally Live curriculum as well as access to the Word Warm-ups Live curriculum, One Minute Reader Live curriculum, and Read Naturally Live-Español curriculum.

Customer Reviews

Nov 12, 2026

5

I love using all the components of Read Live. When I am working with my reading intervention students and using a more phonics based program such as Sonday or UFLI in a small group, I have my students use the One Minute Reader independently in the classroom while I'm not with them, to build up their fluency and comprehension. This combination touches on all aspects of reading in a short amount of time. I also do Read Naturally and Word Warm-ups Live alternately with the phonics program and it has really helped build my students' confidence in themselves as readers. I never want to teach reading without the use of Read Naturally!


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Nov 12, 2026

5

I use the Read Live program in my second grade classroom. It has been a wonderful addition to our curriculum. It allows me to have students at a level that is appropriate to each individual. It has created excitement in my students to improve their fluency with each fluency reading. The vocabulary component has increased their word knowledge and I see them using those words more frequently. I use the comprehension questions to teach students to look back and verify their answers. I have seen this make a huge difference in their comprehension scores also. The summary section has been a great springboard for their writing also. They are learning what is important to include in their summaries as well as what information is not important to use. I am so pleased with their improvement in all these areas. I highly recommend the use of this program at any grade level.


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Nov 12, 2026

5

I have been using Read Live for over 10 years now. I began it with highschoolers for reading interventions and now do it with 6-8th graders due to my change in position. If it wasn't for incentives and charting growth with the kids, they wouldn't be enticed. But with that addition, they are thriving and are relentless!! If they have reason to do well, they push...and they PUSH!! Thank you Read Live!


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Nov 12, 2026

5

We are running Read Naturally Phonics and Sequenced for our whole school to help them with improving their fluency while working on other literacy skills as well. It allows students to be exposed to a variety of background knowledge on topics. I do feel some older teens would like a variety of topics closer to their age and interests in sports, people they know and different cultures. I would love to see a level or a few stories in each level that would include Social Emotional Learning topics if you ever consider it. We really appreciate the updates and continued development of this program as well as the helpfulness of Read Naturally when I have sent a question. Appreciate you all.


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Nov 12, 2026

5

I work as a learning specialist in a middle school in Central California. We have found that doing fluency and comprehension weekly with custody students has made a huge difference in their performance and reading growth. No other program has offered quite what you do. I also love that you can find crosswords for all the passages; that helps to cement the vocabulary.


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Nov 12, 2026

4

Read Live has been a savior for our students needing extra support and focus. We only started 2 months ago and already our first graders have mastered diagraphs and gained confidence and our third graders have increased their WCPM twofold, while their comprehension continues to improve. Read Live is a fairly simple program which does not bog down our Chromebooks, but does require more teacher intervention. I like the Comprehension Tips for Read Live and the students love the One Minute Reader Live for when I am busy with another student.


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Nov 12, 2026

5

I have used Read Naturally for over 15 years now; I started using it when it was only paper copy, and still love using this as a resource. It's such a fun and motivating program for my intervention students. They love to watch themselves "grow" from the cold to the hot read and it's such a confidence builder. The students are always engaged by the stories and it's truly helped to build all aspects of their reading development. The graphs are extremely useful pieces of data that we can share with our PLC teams, as well as a nice progress monitoring tool that we share with parents. Overall, it's a great program and has helped us build strong and CONFIDENT readers:)


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Nov 11, 2026

4

I believe this program is a great tool for our students. They are able to read stories and listen to them being read aloud correctly. I would like to see more updated and modern stories that will keep our students engaged and interested. But overall, I think it is a great program that helps students improve their reading, vocabulary, and reading comprehension skills.


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Nov 10, 2026

5

I was introduced to Read Naturally (The printed version) when I first started working as a Reading Interventionist at a village school in the Interior of Alaska. I was so impressed by the stories and the overall structure of the program. When I took a position as a teacher, reestablishing a school in a remote village on an Aleutian Island, I knew I wanted to use the program. As I was developing a curriculum plan for my students ranging from grade 1 to grade 11, I discovered Read Naturally Live. Having the program online with so many great features for various levels and uses is INVALUABLE! Every student I work with, even one who learns more slowly than others, has been totally successful in developing fluency and strengthening comprehension with this program. I will never teach reading without Read Naturally. Thank you for a great program.


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Nov 10, 2026

5

I've been using Read Naturally Live for years with my third, fourth, and fifth graders during MTSS time to work on fluency and comprehension. It has definitely made a difference in their reading skills. The stories are very engaging to the students as well. They look forward to our Read Live days!


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Nov 10, 2026

5

Our students make progress with fluency and comprehension with this program in grades 3-5. I've seen confidence in their reading skills and interest in choosing new stories.


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Nov 10, 2026

5

Not only is this program effective working on fluency and comprehension skills, but the reporting is helpful to show families and connect them to their student's learning here at school.


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Nov 10, 2026

5
We use readlive with our students and have seen a huge improvement in reading and comprehension scores!
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Nov 10, 2026

5

This program is making such a positive difference in our students’ reading skills! They love practicing the word lists and discovering new information in the stories. It is exciting to see their enthusiasm for reading grow alongside their skills.


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Oct 27, 2026

5
I enjoy implementing resources from Read Naturally. This is a highly effective resource and it shows in the classroom!

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Aug 7, 2026

5
Thank you, Christy, for taking the time to meet with me as I learn to navigate the Read Naturally platform. I also want to thank you for sending resources that will allow me to greatly support my schools when using the program. Thank you, and I look forward to maintaining contact throughout the school year!
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Apr 29, 2026

5
Christy has been awesome supporting my journey with Read Naturally Live and the implementation process. She was able to direct me to the resources and people support as needed to enhance my learning. Looking forward to how this can impact learning as we move into the 2026-27 season!
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Apr 15, 2026

3

Read Live is good for fluency and comprehension, but does not address foundational phonics skills in a explicit, systematic, and logical sequence.


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Brandon Quesnel Apr 17, 2026

Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad to hear you’ve found Read Live effective for building fluency and comprehension. We also want to clarify that Read Live does include explicit, systematic phonics instruction as part of a comprehensive literacy approach:

  • Word Warm-ups Live is included with all Read Live subscriptions and is specifically designed to develop foundational phonics skills in a structured, sequential way. It targets everything from letter sounds and short vowels to multisyllabic words, prefixes, and suffixes. Each lesson follows a clear progression with direct instruction, modeling, guided practice, and repeated reading to build accuracy and automaticity.

  • Read Naturally Live Phonics Series integrates phonics instruction directly into connected text. Each story focuses on a specific phonics pattern, reinforced through targeted word lists, audio-supported lessons, and structured practice aligned to that skill.

  • The Read Live phonics assessment helps identify each student’s specific skill gaps and automatically recommends placement in the appropriate phonics instruction—whether that’s in the Read Naturally Live Phonics Series, Word Warm-ups Live, or a combination of both—ensuring instruction is both explicit and individualized.

Together, these components are designed to address phonics, fluency, and comprehension in a coordinated and efficient way. Many educators choose to use Word Warm-ups Live alongside Read Naturally Live specifically to ensure strong foundational phonics development.

To gain a more complete understanding of Read Live and its comprehensive phonics components, we encourage you to schedule an onboarding session with a program expert who can guide you in using the program with fidelity to help maximize outcomes for your students.

Mar 24, 2026

5

We are so pleased with Read Live and the progress our students are making. The passages are interesting for the students, which helps with these reluctant readers. The reports are so helpful, giving details that help us document progress and develop action plans. The program is very cost-effective, covers a wide range of skills, and is student-friendly.


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Jan 27, 2026

5

Since incorporating Read Live with my special education reading small groups, I have seen huge improvements with all students, no matter their needs or level. It has increased their reading confidence, most importantly! Their improvements are not only shown when reading passages at their level, but also when they are screened with grade level passages.


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