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Quick tips to help kids read fluently
Quick tip
1
Model fluent reading.
Model fluent reading.
Read naturally, with emotion or tone that matches the words you’re reading. If you’re not comfortable reading out loud, kids can listen to audiobooks to hear fluent reading. You can also ask another adult or an older sibling to help out.
Quick tip
2
Try guided practice.
Try guided practice.
Read the first line of a story or poem. Then have kids read it back to you. Then read the second line and have kids read it back. Keep going until you’ve completed the text.
Quick tip
3
Perform some readings.
Perform some readings.
Poetry, scripts, speeches, and jokes are all great ways to develop fluency by reading out loud. After kids practice for a few days, they can “perform” their reading.
Quick tip
4
Give meaningful praise.
Give meaningful praise.
Say things like “You made your voice strong and loud, so I knew what you said was important” or “You got all the words right, but it was hard to follow some of what you said because you read so fast. Try again, but bit slower this time.”
Reading fluency is the ability to read at a good pace, with accuracy, and with the right expression. Fluent readers also understand what they’re reading.
Here are some ways kids can improve their fluency:
Listen to models of fluent reading, like read-alouds. Audiobooks can also be great models of reading fluency.
Practice sight words so kids can automatically recognize words.
Have kids read a short text at their reading level several times. Count how many words they read correctly in one minute. Record the results on a graph. Repeat several times. (This is called “repeated readings.”) Soon they’ll see that their speed and accuracy improve.
Read a sentence together. Then draw slash marks to “chunk” the text into meaningful phrases of three to five words. Kids should take a short pause at the slash marks when reading.
