Parenting & Teacher Tips: Reading Fluency – How it Unlocks Confidence & Comprehension (Part 2 of the Series)

By Cindy Puryear

Reading fluency is a crucial skill that empowers individuals to comprehend, engage with, and enjoy texts. There are several effective strategies that you as parents, grandparents, or teachers can use to enhance reading fluency of children.

T. L. Huchu, says it best. “There’s a world of difference between reading and hearing. I mean, you extract the same juice out of the fruit of knowledge – whether it’s coming off pod or page. But with audio, I like hearing the sound of someone else’s voice. I like having a guide with me through the maze.”

1.) Listening to Reading:

Reading literature to children and using audio books provide an excellent resource to develop reading fluency. Listening to experienced readers and professional narrators read engaging texts exposes listeners to fluent reading models and helps them internalize proper phrasing, intonation, and expression. Better yet, following along with the oral reading while also reading the text, readers strengthen their auditory processing skills and comprehension. Audible books, in person or audio, can be particularly beneficial for struggling readers or those learning a new language..

2.) Rereading Short Passages:

Think about learning almost anything new and the amount of practice you spent honing your skill set. Becoming a more fluent reader involves repeated readings of a specific short passage, allowing readers to become more familiar with the text and thus leading to improved word recognition and automaticity. By rereading the same short passage several times, individuals can focus on reading with accuracy, speed, and appropriate expression. Teachers and parents can support this strategy by providing engaging texts at an appropriate difficulty level, and gradually increasing the complexity as the reader progresses.

3.) Start With Your Favorite Books:

Some of my favorite books for young readers to reread are the Mo Willems, Elephant and Piggy series. Willems’ works are hilariously engaging and full of dialog between the main characters. Have children use different voices for the characters or pair up with a partner to each read one character. In addition, encourage repeated readings of favorite repetitive poems like, “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.”

4.) Tackle Challenging Literature:

More experienced readers can practice fluency using the same fun books and poems young children use, but if you’re looking for something a little more sophisticated, simply ask them to choose their favorite passage from a self-selected text. Teachers and parents can join in the fun, too. You can choose your own passages to reread and practice. Agree to share your best fluent reading with each other after practicing.

Happy repeated readings with your child!