Building Reading Fluency at Home with Ease
Often when people think of reading fluency they think of reading quickly. However, speed is only one component of reading fluency. To read fluently one must read with good pace (not too fast or too slow). A good pace allows the reader and the listener (often one in the same) to process the story. The second component of reading fluency is reading with expression. This means the reader uses proper intonation and emotion while reading. There is no Charlie Brown “wah wah” happening because the reading is captivating, not monotone and read smoothly. Finally, there is accuracy. The reader has little to no errors that allow the story to be understood fully.
When all three components (pace, expression, and accuracy) are working in harmony then a child is reading fluently. It would be difficult to listen to a reader with only one component being strong. Imagine if a child never made reading errors, but read very monotone and too quickly or slowly. It would be hard to stay attentive and process the story. Therefore, the goal of reading fluency is to build all three components. Below we will discuss how to do just that.
Important Reading Fluency Questions
When a child is not reading fluently we initially believe this is because they lack the phonics skills needed to read certain books. Or we believe that children just need more practice reading out loud. While both of these may be true, there are a few more questions to consider.
Is my child easily distracted?
Pro Tip: Using a sentence highlighter strip can offer support to a child in order to track and stay focused on their reading. See image above.
Does my child have the phonics skills needed to read these books?
Children must read books containing phonics skills they’ve already learned. Text may be too challenging if the phonics skills haven’t yet been learned for a particular book. Children will spend more time decoding or not even knowing how to decode some words. Click this link to learn more about the progression of phonics skills.
Is the vocabulary in the story too complex?
A child who is reading about a topic of little knowledge will spend more time trying to understand the vocabulary and overall meaning of the topic. Make sure your child is familiar with the topic and vocabulary words associated with the it before they read. Previewing the story or simply discussing it beforehand will help to create familiarity.
Does my child have proper background knowledge about the topic they are reading?
Background knowledge and vocabulary go hand in hand. If students are reading a book they know almost nothing about, they will struggle to read fluently because they are working so hard to process the meaning of what they are reading. Again, spending time discussing the topic or researching it before reading will be beneficial.
Does my child have proper sight word recognition?
Upwards of 40% of text children encounter in books are considered sight words. If your child has a low sight word repertoire this could be slowing them down and result in less fluent reading. Spending time daily practicing sight words will be worth its weight in gold.
All of the above factors contribute to reading fluency. Below are some common strategies to help with reading fluency.
Reading fluency strategies
There are many ways to help your child have better reading fluency. Fluency comes with time, repetition and consistently practicing reading out loud.
Model reading
Parents and teachers can model reading aloud to children to help build reading fluency. Modeling reading will help your child to hear intonation and expression, which they will imitate as they read too. Think about how many times you have heard your child say an expression or saying you yourself have stated multiple times. For example, in our home when a challenge arises or an obstacle is encountered we often say “You were born to do hard things”. We say it so often in fact that you can now hear our children repeating this to themselves when they are trying something new.
Another example is how I have always spelled my children’s names to them in a little sing-song tune from the time they were little. When my youngest started to ask for her name to be written on her paper, I would write it but ask her to tell me the letters. She would tell me the letters of her name but always mimic the sing-song way I used to recite to her.
Reading aloud to children yields the same results. Modeling good reading, properly pacing and great expression, helps children to read in this way too.
Multiple Reads
Research varies on the number of times children must encounter a word to commit it to memory, but the overall takeaway is multiple exposures and repetition. Therefore, children should read a story or passage at minimum of 3-4 times. This is called cold read versus hot read. The first time a child reads a story/passage (cold read) they will decode more reads, read with less expression and probably have slower speed. The more times they read the same story, they will build overall fluency with better expression, speed and less errors and decoding. Click here for a link to a fun reading fluency game you can practice at home.
Teaching reading fluency strategies
Knowing children need many exposure to the same text means we must also vary the ways they read a book. Since children assess themselves for accuracy and listen for expression as they read, it is always best for them to read out loud.
Echo reading
Echo reading is a great reading fluency strategy. I often use this the first time a child encounters a new story. Echo reading is just as it sounds. The adult reads the passage, page or sentence first and then the child reads after. Using this reading fluency strategy helps the child with hearing expression, understanding the story (background knowledge) and with processing new vocabulary.
Choral Reading
Choral reading is when everybody reads at the same time. I typically use this reading fluency strategy after the child has read or heard the passage at least 2 times prior. If this reading strategy is used first, it can often lead to choppy reading since the adult will probably read fluently while the child is left trying to decode and understand the story.
Partner reading
Partner reading is when partners (you and child or student and student) take turns reading a story. Depending on your preference, students can read a sentence, paragraph or page before it is then their partner’s turn to read. Again, this strategy is best used after hearing the reading passage or story at least once prior.
Whisper Reading
One of my students’ all time favorite ways to read is using a whisper phone. These “phones” are basically pvc pipes that are configured to look like a phone. The point is that students will read the story because the “whisper phone” will connect to their ear and they will hear immediate feedback. They don’t need to read any louder than a whisper to properly hear themselves. I personally love this strategy because children can really only hear themselves read and it blocks outside distraction, while allowing me to fully hear and assess their reading. I also find that using a “whisper phone” helps students who are easily distracted by surrounding noises to tune into their reading, block outside distraction and build reading fluency.
Independent reading
Finally, independent reading is where students read a story to themselves. It is important that students still read out loud to build fluency but they can read alone. This is a great strategy to use as a last way to practice a story they have previously read multiple times.
Reading fluency activities
Besides reading a story multiple times, you can also incorporate reading fluency activities to build strong phonics and word attack skills. Students begin to instantly recognize words because they have been orthographically mapped. Below are some fun reading fluency activities.
Write the Room
Research shows that the part of the brain that learns to read and part that processes movement are the same. Therefore anytime you can have your child moving while learning it will be more beneficial. Write the Room is an activity that does just that. Print out picture cards and tape them around your house, classroom or even outside. Your child will then go to each picture card and write the word on their recording chart. I have created an engaging Write the Room activity pack which includes a recording sheet with letter boxes to better help students map and store words. Click this link to find my Write the Room activity. This is always a student favorite.
Orthographic Mapping
Orthographic mapping is the process of storing words in your long-term memory which is exactly how we begin to read fluently. Words are separated into phonemes (sounds) rather than individual letters and stored in the brain. For example, the word ‘wait’ breaks into three phonemes of /w/ /ai/ /t/ even though there are 4 letters. See image below. Spending time orthographically mapping words is extremely beneficial for building reading fluency.
Fluency game
Students are more engaged and retain information better when taught in the form of a game. Click this link for a partner game activity that is a fan favorite.
In closing, there are many ways to build reading fluency as mentioned above. Always remember that just because students aren’t reading fluently doesn’t mean they don’t know the phonics skills. Limited background knowledge, low vocabulary understanding, low phonics skills or reading at an incorrect level can all lead to poor reading fluency. Do you want more information on how to teach reading at home? Click the image below for a link to a guidebook to kick start your journey of teaching your child to read at home.
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