What is Fluency?
Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, students must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression.
Students who do not read with fluency sound choppy and awkward. Those students may have difficulty with decoding skills or they may just need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading. Fluency is also important for motivation; students who find reading laborious tend not to want to read! As readers head into upper elementary grades, fluency becomes increasingly important. The volume of reading required in the upper elementary and middle school years escalates dramatically. Students whose reading is slow or labored will have trouble meeting the reading demands of their grade level.
Readingrockets.org
So, what are some things you can do at home to support your student’s fluency needs? Here are a few suggestions:
Ways to Help
Read with your student!
The best way to increase reading fluency is to read! Reading alongside your reader, having them practice out loud and having you model fluent reading are great and effective ways to get in that much needed practice.
Over the summer have your reader choose a book of interest at their independent reading level (not too hard, not too easy...something that they can read and understand independently). Every other day (ish!) have your reader choose a few pages to practice reading to themselves, then have them read those same pages out loud to an adult. Be ready to offer feedback and advice! You might not want to do this too often, if you feel like it detracts from your reader's enjoyment of the book (see Fluency Passages below).
There are a variety of oral reading approaches you can take with your reader:
Prompts:
You might find the following prompts helpful when providing feedback for your reader.
Fluency Passages
Short passages are great for reading and rereading (rereading is key!) to work on fluency. Your reader can practice reading and rereading a few times. Timing them to see if they can increase their speed can also be motivating...though proceed with caution because sometimes kids get stuck thinking that fluency is all about speed and forget about phrasing, intonation, and above all, comprehension!
The links below will bring you to printable reading passages and include vocabulary and a few comprehension questions as well. Since the 6-8 grouping looks pretty challenging we have also included the 4-5 band as well.
Grades 4-5
Grades 6-8
Audio books
Audiobooks are a great way to boost fluency and have also been shown to engage reluctant readers. Having the text (paper or ebook) to track along with the reading is really important.
Options for audiobooks include:
Audible -- You pay per book with this app.
Tales2go -- This is a paid app. We don’t have any experience with it but it seems promising.
Your Local Public Library -- Some libraries have a great selection of “Playaways” at the library as well as online options for ebooks and audiobooks.
Sora -- this app is available for all Medfield Public students. It provides access to audiobooks and ebooks.
Word Building and Vocabulary Apps:
The following paid apps are ones that we have not had experience with but after searching around and reading about them they seem to be promising and certainly couldn’t hurt!
Word Joust for 6-8
Roots to Words
Vocabulary.com
Fry Instant Phrases:
These phrases are comprised of words that make up about 67% of all words that students will encounter in their reading. Have your child practice reading these phrases quickly and fluently.
We hope these suggestions prove helpful for both you and your reader!
Kara Gelormini and Sarah Murphy
Reading Specialists
Blake Middle School
Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, students must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression.
Students who do not read with fluency sound choppy and awkward. Those students may have difficulty with decoding skills or they may just need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading. Fluency is also important for motivation; students who find reading laborious tend not to want to read! As readers head into upper elementary grades, fluency becomes increasingly important. The volume of reading required in the upper elementary and middle school years escalates dramatically. Students whose reading is slow or labored will have trouble meeting the reading demands of their grade level.
Readingrockets.org
So, what are some things you can do at home to support your student’s fluency needs? Here are a few suggestions:
Ways to Help
Read with your student!
The best way to increase reading fluency is to read! Reading alongside your reader, having them practice out loud and having you model fluent reading are great and effective ways to get in that much needed practice.
Over the summer have your reader choose a book of interest at their independent reading level (not too hard, not too easy...something that they can read and understand independently). Every other day (ish!) have your reader choose a few pages to practice reading to themselves, then have them read those same pages out loud to an adult. Be ready to offer feedback and advice! You might not want to do this too often, if you feel like it detracts from your reader's enjoyment of the book (see Fluency Passages below).
There are a variety of oral reading approaches you can take with your reader:
- Paired reading: Your reader chooses the text and sits next to you.
Together, you read the text aloud at a rate that is comfortable for them. You may point or put a finger under the line of print to help your reader keep their place. Your reader can signal when they can read without support, but you join in again immediately when needed. If your reader comes to an unknown word, you supply it right away.
- Echo reading: You read a paragraph first. Next, your reader reads the same section of text back to you.
- Rehearsed reading: Your reader reads the text silently before reading it aloud to you.
- Partner reading: You and your reader take turns reading aloud. If they get stuck on a word, use this opportunity to encourage them to try different strategies in figuring out the word.
Prompts:
You might find the following prompts helpful when providing feedback for your reader.
- Listen to me read. Can you read it like that?
- Make a full stop at a period.
- Make your voice go down when you see a period.
- Make your voice go up when you see a question mark.
- Take a short pause/breath when you see a comma.
- Set off the parentheses by stopping before them and after them.
- Read it again and read all the punctuation.
- Read these words together.
- Make it sound like you’re talking
- Try that again and put your words together.
- Try that again and stress the word in bold print. Make that word sound important.
- Are you listening to how your reading sounds?
- Did it sound good?
- Make your voice sound like the character is talking when you see quotation marks.
- Make your voice show that you understand what the author means.
Fluency Passages
Short passages are great for reading and rereading (rereading is key!) to work on fluency. Your reader can practice reading and rereading a few times. Timing them to see if they can increase their speed can also be motivating...though proceed with caution because sometimes kids get stuck thinking that fluency is all about speed and forget about phrasing, intonation, and above all, comprehension!
The links below will bring you to printable reading passages and include vocabulary and a few comprehension questions as well. Since the 6-8 grouping looks pretty challenging we have also included the 4-5 band as well.
Grades 4-5
Grades 6-8
Audio books
Audiobooks are a great way to boost fluency and have also been shown to engage reluctant readers. Having the text (paper or ebook) to track along with the reading is really important.
Options for audiobooks include:
Audible -- You pay per book with this app.
Tales2go -- This is a paid app. We don’t have any experience with it but it seems promising.
Your Local Public Library -- Some libraries have a great selection of “Playaways” at the library as well as online options for ebooks and audiobooks.
Sora -- this app is available for all Medfield Public students. It provides access to audiobooks and ebooks.
Word Building and Vocabulary Apps:
The following paid apps are ones that we have not had experience with but after searching around and reading about them they seem to be promising and certainly couldn’t hurt!
Word Joust for 6-8
Roots to Words
Vocabulary.com
Fry Instant Phrases:
These phrases are comprised of words that make up about 67% of all words that students will encounter in their reading. Have your child practice reading these phrases quickly and fluently.
We hope these suggestions prove helpful for both you and your reader!
Kara Gelormini and Sarah Murphy
Reading Specialists
Blake Middle School