Fluency is a combination of automaticity and accuracy while reading a passage. Automaticity is the ability to read without consciously decoding the words and accuracy is the ability to read all the words correctly. It is almost easier to explain what it looks like to lack fluency, so here are a few examples:
- A child who reads a selection of text with a choppy rhythm: The – dog – jumped – high – and – landed – on – the – pile – of – leaves.
- A child who pauses frequently when reading to decipher a difficult word: The dog … jumped high and landed on the pile of … leaves.
- A child who reads with errors that changes the meaning of the text: The god jumped here and handed a pile of legos.
Even one meaning changing error in a sentence can impact reading comprehension, which is the ultimate goal of fluent reading. When a child does not read fluently, he will be unable to comprehend the passage at a sufficient level.
Group Lesson Plan Ideas for Improving Reading Fluency
It is important to be careful when using reading fluency exercises with the whole classroom so that the slower students do not stand out next to the more advanced readers. Using nonsense words and making a game of stumping students will help to avoid this issue.
Using phonetic combinations of letters, nonsense words can have students practice their decoding skills and become more confident with various combinations of letters. Here are some examples:
- Tuh
- Jye
- Meeg
- Nib
- Thayb
For more examples of nonsense words, visit Speech-Language-Development.com
Notice that some of the words are simple and some are more complicated. Make a game of stumping the students and give the more difficult words to the more advanced students so that the playing field is leveled, so to speak.
Guided Reading Activities that Focus on Fluency
Using Fry’s Fluency Phrases, a teacher can help an individual or small groups of children improve their fluency. These phrases are commonly used phrases in the English Language and with practice, can impact the child’s reading fluency when reading them in a larger passage.
Have students re-read familiar passages and books, focusing on reading smoothly and without errors. Re-reading is a valuable tool that helps students focus on improving their reading. When a student struggles to read a sentence, have the student go back and re-read the sentence once he has read it correctly. Often in the struggle to decode a difficult word, the student will forget the meaning of the sentence, so re-reading it with fluency will help the student understand the sentence better.
If a student is struggling with reading fluency, choose a book that is at a slightly easier level for practice reading. This will help the child gain confidence in reading. At the same time, purposefully teach reading strategies that will give the student tools for decoding more complicated text.
It is also important to share information with the student’s parents in order to impress upon the importance of having the child read every day at home. With practice, students will slowly increase their reading fluency skills and in turn, their reading comprehension will also improve.
Learn more about:
How to Teach Reading – Tips on both reading fluency and comprehension using before, during and after reading strategies.
Comprehension and Fluency Tips – Learn a variety of strategies for improving both a child's reading comprehension and fluency.
Jennifer Wagaman - Jennifer is a mother of 2 and has both public, private and administrative experience in the education field.
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