Improving Fluency Skills
If your child is struggling to sound out or recognize words, repeating words or phrases, stumbling over words, or leaving out or adding words when reading, he/she is not reading fluently.
He may have difficulty focusing on the meaning of the words he/she is reading. Many children who do not read fluently have trouble understanding the ideas presented in their history, science and literature textbooks. Not understanding main ideas and basic vocabulary often results in students’ being unable to perform successfully in the classroom and on tests.
If you are concerned about your child’s reading, talk to his/her teachers. If there is a reading specialist in your child’s school, talk to that specialist. These experts can often provide valuable suggestions and support.
Teachers can help you identify the pages in textbooks where important ideas are discussed. Perhaps you or a teacher’s aide or volunteer can tape record these passages from your child’s texts. Then your child can read along with the tape until she is reading the passage fluently. Reading specialists may help your child work on other reading strategies (phonics and phonemic awareness, decoding skills, etc.) to improve fluency.
Here are some things you can do at home to help your child improve fluency skills.
- Model fluent reading.Read out loud smoothly and with expression from a newspaper article, magazine, or your child's textbook.
- Repeated reading.Read a passage to your child, and then ask her to repeat the reading. You might want to tape your voice and then your child’sso he/she canlisten forthe difference. Have him/her repeat the reading until he/she is reading smoothly and is able to read with expression.
- Choral reading.You and your child also can read passagestogether out loud. Reading together provides an opportunity to increase vocabulary as you discuss the meanings of words in the text.
- Echo reading.Read a line or sentence from a book and then have your teen read the same line, trying to "mimic" your expression and ease of reading.
- Have your child tape record his/her reading. Then ask her to re-read the passage several times and tape record it again so he/she can hear the difference.
- Encourage your child to read. Suggest interesting and fun things for them to read. Then talk with them about what they read.