Building Fluency in Reading

• What is fluency?
• How is reading fluently helpful?
• How can fluency be developed?
• Repeated Reading Exercises
• Basic Repeated Reading routine
• Fluency Skill Building Topics
• Tracking Fluency Progress

What is fluency and how is it helpful?

“Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children 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. “(WETA)

Fluency can be developed by concentrating on five key components:

• accuracy (correct pronunciation, emphasizing syllables correctly, vocabulary development)
• rate (matching reading speed with type of reading, using punctuation correctly)
• phrasing (using your voice to group words together so reading is not choppy)
• expression (using your voice to express feeling)
• intonation (rise and fall in pitch of voice to match what is read; use proper rhythm, raising sound of voice for words and phrases which should be emphasized/stressed)

It is best to teach these concepts in the context of the actual reading passage you are working on rather than in general.

Fluency can be developed in the following ways:

• reading!!!!!
• repeated reading practice with feedback/guidance (and mini lessons)
• vocabulary development

Repeated Reading Exercises

I first started doing repeated reading with my oldest daughter years ago. Since then, it has always been a very helpful tool to build up fluency for my kids. My kids have always seemed to enjoy it as well.

Basic Routine(what we do)

1. Prep: In the beginning, prepare or make a copy of a progress graph chart to record speeds.

2. Prepare the reading selections (weekly)

      Pick the reading passage(s) for the week and mark off:

• the length of the passage (100-150 words approximately, but don’t stop mid paragraph)
• chunks (phrases)—use slashes to show phrase boundaries   (The dog / walked  down / the street--A lot of times, I leave off chunking due to forgetfullness or laziness but it is very helpful when you have kids who just read each word one at a time without chunking so that it sounds choppy)
• fluency skills to work on; words to be emphasized (note why they should be emphasized);  
• vocabulary student may not know

What should you use for reading passages?

Really anything—stories, news articles, poems. It is a good idea to vary the reading material each week to give student practice reading different types of written works.

Here are a few free suggestions for reading passages:

McGraw Hill has a series of Language workbooks called On Level Practice Books for grades 1-6, which is what we currently use. Each unit contains passages for the purpose of practicing fluency.

TpT Free Reading Passages Grades 1-4

Anything you have around the house, story books, poetry, even textbooks are good. Just be sure not to make the portion selected for repeated reading too long, try 100-150 words, but of course, if the 100-150 words end in the middle of a paragraph, complete the paragraph. You can use longer selections for older students. ( I use passages of less than 100 words for my younger kids).


3. Repeated Reading Drills:

At the very beginning, establish a baseline of fluency in terms of speed and accuracy by having student read a passage in one minute and record the speed, correcting for errors:

(Total number of words - # errors = Words correct/minute)

“Typical” first graders read 60 wpm.
“Typical” second graders read 70 wpm.
“Typical” third graders read 80 wpm.)

(There's a fluency standards table here which shows typical fluency rates for grades 1-6 over the course of a school year). I just use these as a guide.

Typical Session (3 times a week or so):

1. MODELING: Read the passage to the student to model fluent reading of the passage. (also, model nonfluent reading sometimes so student an see the difference)


2. DIRECT INSTRUCTION: Go back over the passage, discuss with student the fluency skills which will be targeted (see fluency building topics below ) in that session as well as vocabulary (meaning and pronunciation) student may not know.

As a general rule and quick helper during your sessions, keep these five elements in mind for what to concentrate on:

• accuracy 
• rate
• intonation
• expression
• phrasing

3. REPEATED READING: Let student read the passage orally to you (do not interrupt); mark down words student struggled with, places that should have been emphasized based upon previous lessons and places that should have been emphasized based upon this lesson’s foci.

4. FEEDBACK: Look over the passage with student and point out words that should have been emphasized (but weren’t) and why; words read incorrectly. Do pronunciation drills on words that are hard for student to read (show student how to pronounce correctly and have them repeat the words several times. Have student repeat the reading several times, making sure to offer feedback as appropriate (making sure not to interrupt student until a sentence is complete).You can also time each reading which may help motivate the student more if necessary as well as help student see progress.

5. MEASURE/TRACK PROGRESS: At the end of the week or so, take a timed reading (on the week’s passage, without feedback) and record the speed on student’s progress graph.

You may want to select a multiple paragraph reading selection for the week and work your way through the paragraphs during the week, one at a time, sticking with one until several, consistent fluent readings have been achieved for each paragraph.

You may also want to record the first repeated reading of the week and the last one to notice progress/improvement.

Fluency Skill Building Topics

Things you can focus on in fluency exercises. Choose one or more to focus on each time in a mini lesson during the repeated reading routine.

• Tone should change to match type of reading
• Do not read in a monotone voice
• Pauses – end of sentence (long pause, count of two)
• Pauses – after commas (short pause, count of one)
• Pronunciation (sounds, syllables); do drills to practice pronouncing vocabulary that is difficult to read
• Emphasize words in quotation marks (dialogue/terms)
• Emphasize strong verbs, adverbs (eg. “so”), and adjectives
• Don’t run words together, enunciate each word separately, don’t omit syllables
• example, don’t say “dirtand” for “dirt and”
• Use punctuation to cue the rise and fall of voice at the end of sentences (raise voice on the last word of a question); read exclamations with excitement
• Emphasize words in a series (except “and” ) – daisies, roses, and daffodils
• Emphasize negative words such as “no/not” or positive words such as “yes”
• Emphasize signal words (e.g. first, next, last)
• Emphasize conjunctions such as but, or, however
• Emphasize contrast words when trying to emphasize contrast
• Emphasize repeated words (eg. “more and more”)
• Emphasize numbers and years (stretch out or rise)
•  Emphasize time words (today, yesterday, etc)
• Read parts slowly when you want to give greater effect
• Use rise and fall (inflection) to give variety as well, not just to emphasize words, but to keep interest
• Emphasize amazing facts (the only, the biggest, etc)
• Emphasize superlatives (eg. better, bigger, smallest)
• Read in chunks/phrases
• Emphasize the preposition in prepositional phrases
• Emphasize specific words to convey a certain mood or show importance
• Pause for emphasis or to show hesitation.
• Stretch out voice for emphasis
• Pause to express a decided opinion or give a conclusion, to make a strong point or lasting impression
• Practice reading the same sentence repeatedly putting emphasis on each of the words in the sentence one at a time to see the effect (in meaning/mood/emphasis)

Tracking Fluency Progress

This is a fluency progress tracker that I made up for my kids.

My Fluency Progress Tracker

Learning to Read/Reading Skills

TJ Reading Resources at a Glance

If you know what kind of specific resources you are looking for, start here:

(updating of links in progress: 1/2019)

• By the Grade Resources
• Before/During/After Reading Strategies
• Comprehension
• Fluency
• Literature
• Phonics
• Reading Aloud 
• Reading Motivation/Incentives
• Reading Workbooks
• Vocabulary

If you are new to teaching reading and don't know where to start or what to do (don't panic), continue reading below  to get a road map of how reading is generally taught and how you can get started.

How to Teach Your Kids to Read

How it started for us

I remember the panicked feeling I got when it hit me that I had to teach my kids to read. Not a school. Me. I was so overwhelmed and didn't know where to start. I had no clue. Sound familiar?

Since the internet was brand spanking new when I started homeschooling in the late 90s, I headed out to the library to research how to teach reading. And let me tell you, there are a lot of theories, opinions, and methods. I tried this method and I tried that method and nothing was really working. Then one day, THE light came on. Right before this, my oldest had been attending kindergarten at a masjid (mosque). That only lasted two months when my husband came home one day and announced that "we" (read -->I) were going to homeschool--but that's another story). But back to this particular time when I had picked up some books at the library. One book was Get Ready to Read! by Toni Gould. Something in those books seemed familiar to me. Fortunately, I still had a workbook from my son's brief kindergarten stint and I noticed that the workbook was written by the same author. The methods in her book were the same as this workbook which I liked. And her method made so much sense. This was the day I discovered Phonics. From that point on, I researched phonics and decided that this way, was the way for us (as opposed to other methods such as whole language). And that was our beginning road to reading. 

In all, I've taught 7 of my kids to read and I have 2 more to go, in shaa Allah.  If you are just starting this journey and feeling panicked and confused, trust me, I've been there--and more than once. Each child is different so your experiences will be different. One of my kids was 4 when she got the hang of phonics and one of my kids was 11 by the time he was fluent.  

I've discovered though, that there are basic steps in teaching a child to read:

Where to Start:

When you are just starting, you need to develop the following first:

• Alphabet Recognition (some people say learning the names is not necessary at this point, but I always start with this)
• Phonemic Awareness (this is learning the sounds that the different letters (a, b, t, etc) or groups of letters (ck, ch, etc) you can teach this through the use of Phonics)
• Sight words vocabulary (words that generally cannot be sounded out or just high frequency words that students will encounter in their reading. I generally start this once my kids can read short vowel (CVC) words such as cat, hot, and bit where the words have the pattern of a consonant followed by a vowel followed by another consonant)

When your student is an emerging reader, transitional, or fluent reader, the following skills should be developed/improved:

• Vocabulary Development
• Fluency
• Comprehension
• Before/During/After Reading Strategies

Once your reader is a fluent reader, you move towards teaching literature (plot, theme, setting, etc)

Stages of Reader Development

• Reading Rockets has a nice, quick article on the Stages of Reading Development
• Reading A-Z Stages of Reading Development

By the Grade Resources

(links to be restored, inshaa Allah.)

• Grade 1
• Grade 2
• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6

Sight Words/High Frequency Words

What are sight words/high frequency words and how do I teach them?

Reading Incentive Rewards & Programs

Local Libraries

Check your local library for summer or year around reading rewards programs. This year, our local library has given away small toys and certificates for In N Out Burgers several times during the year.

Mensa Excellence in Reading Program

Year around reading program. Kids read books from the list and received a T-shirt and rewards certificates. Grade K-12

Pizza Hut Book It

October to March reading program. Students receive 1 free  1 topping personal pan pizza for each month your personal reading goals are met. Grade K-6. Check in the spring for the following year to enroll because you have to sign up ahead of time and then certificates are shipped in September or so. (Currently homeschoolers may sign up starting May 1).

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading Program

Kids get a free book when they read 8 books over the summer.

Reading Rewards Sites

For these sites, you, the parent, set and give students rewards. These sites help you track their reading.

Book Adventure

Kids can search for books here, take quizzes, and earn prizes for reading.

Reading Rewards

This is a neat site where kids can track the books they read, and win digital badges. Parents can set a goal and their own rewards and when student reaches the goals, it will inform you so you can give them your reward.

Are Reading Incentive Programs a Good Idea?

Not everyone agrees that reading incentive programs are effective.  I have found that they work wonderfully with my kids that already love to read, but not so much for ones that don't like to read.

Elementary Reading Incentive Programs is an article which has some good tips for using reading incentive programs as well as some of the drawbacks.

A Closer Look at Reading Incentive Programs, an article by Alfie Kohn, who is very anti-reading incentive program, provides a look at the case against reading incentive programs. 

So, like I said, these type of programs provide a nice little reward for my readers. I'm still exploring ways to get my nonreaders to read more, but I think a great deal of it comes down to finding books that interest them.  If they are not interested in novels, but say, animals, well, that's what we get them. If you have kids that find non-fiction more interesting then find books about faraway places, sports, etc that will get them reading, in shaa Allah.

My Fluency Progress Tracker

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