How to Strengthen Reading Fluency
Reading fluency plays a key role in reading comprehension. So how do we strengthen reading fluency? As a teacher of struggling readers, I learned that this did not mean that only those who could read fast were good readers. Speed was not the most important factor. In fact, I discovered a key habit that was essential to strengthening reading fluency. Students had to learn to catch their reading mistakes, correct them and then continue reading. Only when their brains could identify that something didn’t make sense, would they stop, read again until it made sense. Then, once they figured it out, they would read on. Ideally, the fewer of these stops and starts a student made, the more fluent of a reader they became.
The problem?
They had to care about what they were reading to even WANT to stop and figure it out. So many students would just read on, without understanding, because they didn’t care. Ultimately, not comprehending any of what they had just read.
So many students would just read on, without understanding, because they didn’t care.
The Solution?
We must provide struggling readers with books that they want to read and want to understand what is happening. The longer we can engage them in material that maters to them, the more likely it is for them to build their reading fluency.
My new series, The Way I See It, does just this! The first book, Ozzie will pull you in and then there are five more books that continue the story. The length of the series offers the reader an opportunity to strengthen their reading fluency because they become engaged in the lives of these teens. https://www.lbtillit.com/the-way-i-see-it-series/
My Easy Read Books creates books that offer timeless stories, where “reading levels” fall to the background as the characters and plots effortlessly engage the readers.https://www.myeasyreadbooks.com/
Blog Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska (Pexels)