Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately, quickly, and with expression.
Fluency is important because it provides a bridge
between word recognition and comprehension.
(Reading Rockets)
One of the methods that I have used to help my kids improve their fluency is repeated reading. Essentially, you pick a reading selection, have your child read the same passage several times each day for a week or so and record how many words they have read per minute. With each reading throughout the week, they try to beat their previous score. This has always worked really well for us (when I can keep it consistent). More about this method can be found here (Tracking My Progress: Fluency) where the author of the post gives simple instructions on how to carry out repeated reading. She includes a Fluency Progress Tracker which I really liked. But if you know me, I had to put my own spin on the tracker and create my own.
You can record the average scores for daily repeated readings for up to nine weeks. Each day, you or your student plots the average wpm score, then as more points are plotted, you can connect the dots to see the trend and any improvements.
As with most things, I struggle being consistent with doing repeated reading everyday. But, my nine year old and I have been doing them on and off for the past six months and I have really seen improvement. When we first started, his first grade level repeated passage score was 42 wpm. We were consistent for about 4-5 weeks and we saw improvement. We just picked back up on it this week and his score on his first reading was over 100 wpm! So, if you have a struggling reader, this is one activity you might try. I can't say that the repeated reading was the only reason for his improvement, but it does help. It also helps you teach your child how to read with expression/intonation which is important because when your student reads in a monotone level, it is not as engaging and thus comprehension can suffer because the brain kind of tunes out, at least that has been our experience.
Download TJ Homeschooling's
Fluency Progress Tracker
Fluency Progress Tracker
