Fluency Fun
Easy Reading Strategies Every Parent Can Try
Many young readers hit bumps in the road on their journey to reading fluency, the ability to read with accuracy, speed, and expression. There are fun and simple ways to help your child develop stronger fluency skills you can do right at home. Get ready for storytime because we’re sharing three of our favorite at-home activities to help your child improve their reading fluency. REPEATED READING Repetition is an effective way to help build fluency. Have your child pick out a short written passage on a topic they are interested in, like animals or sports, and read it aloud so they can hear how it should sound. Next, ask them to read the passage to you and time them. Your child will read the passage aloud multiple times to improve their speed and accuracy. After each reading, give them tips on how they can improve, praise their successes, and ask them questions about the content to test their comprehension skills. CHORAL READING Choral reading is another excellent way to help children develop their skills, especially if they are shy or nervous about reading out loud. This
can be done with a group of children or at home with just you and your child. Start by reading a short passage aloud and ask your child to follow along. Next, read the passage together, aiming to match each other’s speed and rhythm as closely as possible. Over time, this should help your child feel more confident about reading and helps them to establish their pronunciation and rhythm. READ AND LISTEN You can also utilize a few quality online and digital resources to practice fluency with your child. Some special audiobooks allow children to read along, highlighting the text as the words play. This helps children understand what words look and sound like and how to read words expressively. Some websites offer audio playback options so your child can listen and read along. Not only does this help with their pronunciation and expression, but it also helps them build their vocabulary. Adding these fun activities to your regular routine can help support your child on their reading adventure. Remember, the more practice your child has with reading, the more confident they will become in their skills.
From Sounds to Words
The Power of Phonological Awareness
VOCABULARY AND MEMORY Phonological awareness also plays a significant role in developing vocabulary and figuring out new or unfamiliar words as they arise. Children who can recognize and use the sounds of letters can better compare words they have never seen or heard with known words. They can also better understand that some words sound alike but have different meanings. IMPROVING THROUGH PRACTICE Children who struggle with this awareness can significantly benefit from exposure to spoken words. Some activities you can do at home with your child include reading aloud, singing, and having them practice talking with trusted family members. Focus on the sounds of words by clapping out the syllables and pointing out the beginning and ending sounds. Phonological awareness skills build a strong foundation for children’s success as readers and writers. By helping young people understand how sounds come together to form words, they develop the ability to decode and encode language effectively.
Imagine your child clapping their hands along to the rhythm of a song or playing with the sounds in a word, stretching out the syllables. Phonological awareness is the ability to hear words and manipulate individual sounds in spoken language. This ability is one of the most essential elements of reading, and it is one of the best predictors of a child’s future reading abilities in school as they grow older. Children who struggle with this skill often experience reading challenges throughout their education. Let’s explore why phonological awareness is so important for children to be successful readers. PHONICS AND THE ALPHABET Phonics, or the practice of matching sounds of spoken English with single letters or groups of letters to form words, is a necessary part of reading. For students who need more phonological awareness, translating printed text into spoken words may be difficult. They may know and recognize the letters in the alphabet but need clarification on what the letters actually represent. This ability to take single or groups of letters and combine them into words is critical for learning to read.
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