Originally published by Scholastic Parents on January 1, 2021 You\u2019ve spent years reading storybooks, store signs, and cereal boxes to your child. But now that they’re learning to read out loud by themselves, story time might feel like new territory. When your growing reader furrows their brow with every word and stumbles through most sentences, there are certain steps you can take to set them up for lifelong reading success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading fluency is the ability to read out loud accurately, at a good pace (not too slow or <\/em>too fast), and with expression. \u201cAlthough it\u2019s typically measured in school when children start reading on their own, such as at the end of first grade, reading fluency is something you can start working on with them even before then,\u201d says Helen Maniates, Ph.D., associate professor of teacher education at the University of San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And it certainly pays to, because reading skills can help your child get more out of every subject in school. \u201cReading fluency contributes to reading comprehension,\u201d says Maniates. \u201cWhen children read slowly, don\u2019t pay attention to punctuation, or struggle with particular words, they lose track of the ideas in the text.\u201d Set your child up for academic success with these easy \u2014 and fun! \u2014 reading approaches.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more often your child hears fluent reading, the more likely they are to pick it up. \u201cStart by reading a paragraph or a full page from a book, and then ask your child to read it,\u201d says Brook Sawyer, Ph.D., an associate professor focusing on language and literacy development at the College of Education at Lehigh University. \u201cWhen you provide that model, it\u2019s an opportunity for the child to get familiar with the story, understand the pacing, and then mimic you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you model, channel your high school drama class: Read with exuberant, Oscar-worthy expression and pause at the appropriate times (at commas, periods, etc.) to demonstrate the cadence of our language. It\u2019s also helpful to play audiobooks in the car to squeeze in extra modeling time when you\u2019re on the go, says Sawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve ever learned a new language, you know how difficult it can be to decipher where one word ends and the next begins when listening to a conversation. Your little learner might feel the same way when they try to follow along during story time. That\u2019s where tracking \u2014 or running your finger under words as you read them \u2014 comes in handy. You can track while you\u2019re reading to your child, or ask them to track when they’re reading out loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen kids are first learning to read, it\u2019s really important for them to touch each word to understand the correspondence between the spoken and written language,\u201d says Maniates. \u201cIt\u2019s a stepping-stone strategy. Eventually, they\u2019ll be able to tackle larger phrases without reading word by word.\u201d To make tracking words more fun for your child, equip them with plastic Martian or witch fingers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not to worry: No singing skills required! Choral reading simply means you read a story out loud, and ask your child to read along with you at the same pace. This helps them understand what fluent reading feels like, and gives them the chance to practise it themselves at your pace, says Sawyer. It\u2019s OK if you\u2019re a tiny bit ahead of them \u2014 just be sure to pick a book that they can already read themselves. That way, they’re working on pacing and accuracy rather than decoding new words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\n\n\n\n1. Show them your own fluent reading.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
2. Teach your child how to track words.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Try choral reading together.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n