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.
Research basis for the Read Naturally Strategy

Read Naturally Live Steps
- 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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 Phonic series also includes a spelling step to give students practice encoding words from the word list. - 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.
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.
Featured idioms
The teacher assigns the appropriate series and level for each student. The student works through the level in the student program, and the teacher manages the student's progress in the teacher program.
STUDENT PROGRAM
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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.
- Three appropriately paced 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
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Set up of account for district, building, classroom, staff, and/or students include:
- Enrolling staff and students.
- Licensing students.
- Support for single sign-on tools from ClassLink and Google Classroom.
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.
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
Amanda E Dec 17, 2025
5
This is my 1st full year utilizing Read Live in my small groups and so far I am loving it! I have seen students who don't enjoy reading look forward to coming in my room to read on Read Live, some have been doing it for several years before coming to me and they aren't tired of it, which is refreshing. I look forward to receiving the update emails every month! Thank you for offering this program!
Reply Brooke Dec 17, 2025
5
I really enjoy using Read Naturally. It is easy to use, engaging for students, and does a great job building reading fluency and confidence. I like that it is data-driven and allows students to work at their own level while clearly showing progress over time.
Reply Melinda Coupe Dec 17, 2025
5
I really appreciate this program for my students who need fluency practice. This is a great way to differentiate between students and a good way for them to practice almost independently. For teachers who need data to show that their students are improving it helps to keep track of each story that they read. I recommend this for my fourth and fifth graders who just need that little bit of extra practice.
Reply Aliese Withers Dec 16, 2025
5
Our school has been using ReadLive for the last 3 years. It has been such an great resource to use and we have seen such improvements in our students that use it consistently. We love the data that comes with the program and it is very easy to show and explain to parents.
Reply Amy I. Dec 16, 2025
5
I am a Title Intervention teacher, and I love Read Live! We have used Read Naturally for years and love how it has evolved into a digital program. Read Live has been great. My students can work on their reading at their own levels while other students work on other things. I have seen tremendous growth and have been able to close reading gaps with my students. We use Read Live for fluency, spelling, and comprehension. This is a great program that addresses multiple areas of reading. The Data mentor is also beneficial and provides great feedback. This will forever be an intervention program that we will continue to use in my Title Program.
Reply Annie Johnston Dec 16, 2025
5
This is my first year using Read Naturally and it has been an amazing tool! This is my first year in this position and I was a little overwhelmed, but Read Naturally has been a life saver!
Reply Rebecca McCasland Dec 16, 2025
5
I love this product! It engages students and helps in each area of reading while teaching them to be more independent. The students really enjoy seeing their before and after timing on the graph. It is also easy to implement for the teacher and easy to monitor progress.
Reply Regina Gooley Dec 16, 2025
4
Read Naturally is greatly beneficial when having to progress monitor our special education students. I do wish there was a way to track the students errors within the system instead of just a number of errors. Reply Brandon Quesnel Dec 18, 2025
Thank you for using Read Live! All words clicked on during the Cold Timing and Practice steps are recorded as Difficult Words and can be viewed on the Pass/Review work page or in the Story Details report. Please click the links for information, and feel free to reach out to our Customer Support Team with any questions.
Casey Winckler Dec 16, 2025
5
Our district has implemented ReadLive for two years. The feedback from teachers and students has been nothing but complimentary! Teachers are able to easily track and monitor progress and implement IEP goals with assistance from the program. We have also trainined paraprofessionals to help increase the teacher workload and instruction. We are grateful for the ease and fidelity to support our students.
Reply Christine Moore, MS CCC-SLP Dec 16, 2025
5
Read Naturally is a great way to integrate summer reading practice for kids! I can use it one on one to support gains, and it's easy to set up home practice so parents can help curb the summer slide.
Reply Debbie Pierce Busbee Dec 15, 2025
5
I’ve used Read Live for the past 7 years. It has been exciting to watch students grow and achieve grade level reading skills after using this program. Students gain confidence as their fluency rate increases and their comprehension scores improve! Students are improving their overall reading abilities and they improve benchmark scores throughout the year! Being a reading intervention teacher using Read Live has been the most rewarding teacher experience! Thank you Read Naturally for helping my students learn to love reading!
Reply Jennifer C Dec 12, 2025
5
I used the print Read Naturally (with cd's) in a school several years ago, and I saw great success. A couple of years ago, I asked for Read Live for my resource classes. In one semester, I saw students improve their fluency and increase their text difficulty level. I worry about over-using technology in the classroom, however, the students who use Read Live really enjoy it. They like being able to choose their story and work at their own pace. I use it twice a week in select groups. The students look forward to it as it is a mix of independent work and teacher interaction. The visual graphs help students understand where they are and where they need to work to get. Most importantly, though, is the growth in fluency and vocabulary.
Reply Mona khalil Dec 10, 2025
5
This is my first time using Read Live. We’ve always used the paper version, but I’m really enjoying the online format. Students are much more engaged, and the content is tailored and individualized for each learner. We’re already seeing growth in our 5th graders as we progress monitor their fluency and accuracy.
Reply Jennifer Foley Dec 10, 2025
5
Our students and teachers have responded very positively to the transition from our previous well-known reading program to Read Live. Both groups report that Read Live is more engaging, easy to navigate, and better aligned with students’ individual needs. Teachers appreciate the clear data, structured routines, and built-in supports that make progress monitoring more efficient. Students consistently share that they enjoy the format and feel more confident as they work through each passage. Overall, the switch to Read Live has been a noticeable improvement in both usability and student engagement.
Reply Katrina Russell Dec 9, 2025
5
Read naturally has been great to help my students improve fluency with high interest texts.
Reply Olivia Sullivan Dec 9, 2025
5
As an elementary special education teacher, I've been using Read Naturally for reading fluency and comprehension ever since I started teaching! My students love the engaging stories. I also love that it's quick and easy and that students do most of it independently. Reply Sarah Forbes Dec 9, 2025
5
Read Naturally live has given my intervention students the skills and confidence to improve their reading year after year! Not only are my student's fluency and comprehension scores improving and closing gaps, but seeing my students cheer when they meet a goal or answer questions correctly has been so magical. I love that I can customize what my students are working on based on their ability and skill gaps, and each student feels empowered to work hard and grow. Additionally, having reports that I can share at data meetings or with families has helped me paint the picture of what my students can do and where we focus our efforts in and easily understandable way. I cannot recommend Read Naturally enough!
Reply Rita C Dec 9, 2025
5
My students enjoy working with Read Naturally Live and Read Naturally Live-Español. I am able to meet a wide variety of student needs using both programs. All my students are second language learners and they are able to use both languages to make meaning and gain fluency and comprehension. The online component allows students to practice independently at home and in their homerooms for additional support.
Reply Annie P. Dec 9, 2025
4
I have used Read Naturally for years! However, Read Live gives students in my groups more independence and choice in what they are reading. I love that it is quick and easy to do the initial testing for levels, while also providing feedback on where they are struggling and when levels or goals need to be rechecked. Reply Marcie Frehner Dec 9, 2025
5
I have used the Read Live program with my intervention students in both middle and elementary schools. One of the things I love about the program is its versatility. I can use the Read Naturally program for students who need work on fluency and comprehension or I can just use the Word Works Live program for my younger students who are working in different programs but need more practice with automaticity and spelling. I love how I can customize the program by switching off sections to best meet the needs of my students during the limited time we have. I wouldn't want to teach reading without it! Reply