Helping Your Child Become a Fluent Reader
Accurate Practice Makes Perfection
Imagine a kid wanting to learn to play basketball. They practice and practice using the ball, but no one taught them the techniques. Do you think they are going to be the star of the game? Of course not, they have to be taught the correct form and skills and then practice the proper way before they are able to become a pro.
Most of us take reading for granted. Granted, we easily believe that if you come from a family that values reading that you will learn to read with ease. Unfortunately, this is not true. Many students, who have a rich literacy environment, struggle to learn to read. Not only do we need to teach reading in an explicit and systematic way but also discover what the student’s most pressing need is. In due time, we will see improvement in our child’s reading if we help him or her build a strong foundation.
Again, as a pro basketball player has to have accurate practice so does a child who wants to read fluently. Albeit a child needs accurate practice to become a fluent reader. Furthermore, learning to be a fluent reader is something that has to be specifically taught.
Improve reading fluency with accurate reading practice
So now let’s bring this back to reading. A child could read out loud every day, but if they do not know and apply the foundational skills, they are going to struggle. In other words, the child will not become a strong confident reader. However, any child can improve in this area. Most importantly, one must be sure to create a strong foundation. Check out this post from Reading Simplified.
First, a child must have a strong sound/symbol knowledge. This means that they know that [ck] say /c/ as in duck and [c] says /c/ as in cat. Furthermore, they must notice the words change by one sound. For example, if we have the word map and change the /a/ to an /o/ then we will have mop. Additionally, they need to know how to blend the sounds. It is important to teach children to blend as they read. This means they put sound by sound together until they get the word.
Once your child knows the basic code and is able to blend cvc words together, you want them to start reading real books. If you are interested in learning about good beginner readers check out this blog post.
The journey to reading fluency
To help your child improve their fluency you will want to give them guided support. This simply means that they read out loud to you and you give them support as needed. It is important that you give them proper feedback.
Instead of telling them the word or telling them to guess by looking at the picture, prompt them to decode the word on their own. You want to remember to allow them to do the hard work of reading the word. This is what is going to help form stronger neurons. You want to keep the frustration level low.
Be sure to subscribe to get updates of the latest blog, because in the near future I will share how to give proper feedback and decide what is best for your child.
Furthermore, when you model how to decode an unfamiliar word by breaking it down sound by sound, it helps your child develop the skills needed to be a confident, fluent reader.
Now that your child has the right technique and skills, you are going to want them to practice, practice, practice. Or Read, Read, Read.
Encourage your beginner to read each day
Chiefly, research shows again and again the more a child reads the more proficient he or she will be, and the easier learning will be. In fact, it is recommended that a child reads at least 20 minutes a day.
I encourage parents to figure out how long their child is reading a day and then create action steps to get to your goal. As a matter of fact, next week we will discuss ways to help your child become motivated about reading. Be sure to visit again, since I will have some free resources for you. Go ahead and subscribe so it will be delivered to your inbox.
To clarify, this is your child reading, and not you reading to your child. The biggest goal is to get as much time with their eyes on print as we can. The more they see the words and practice decoding the sooner they will be fluent readers.
You may now be wondering how I decide what book should I have my child read. Well, that is a great question. First, it depends if they are reading on their own or if you are there to guide them.
What books should my child read?
When child is reading independently
If they are reading on their own, you will want to give them a book that they are familiar with or that contains the sounds and types of words they are familiar with reading. They should be able to have about 90% reading accuracy with the book.
When Child and Parent Read Together
Now if they are with you, the book can be more challenging. This is because you can give them the support needed when they come upon a new sound or letter combination to a certain sound. Accordingly, this support can be given by pointing to the sound and saying this says /f/. For example, say the book has the word “phone” and they have never seen the word. You can point to the [ph] and say now this says /f/. Now can you read it.
On the other hand, if they cannot do it on their own, you can support them with the blend as you go technique. Since this is a vital part in teaching reading, because it helps the child see early on that the English code is complex and builds.
Furthermore, it helps reiterate the importance of reading the entire word and taking what they know to figure out the unknown. In other words, “Dissecting” words helps learners read new and more complicated words.
Summary
Altogether, it is important to remember that to improve reading fluency, a child must have a strong foundation knowing how the sound/letter code works and then how to blend those sounds together. Particularly, once these foundational skills are taught, they should have ample practice with the support of a stronger reader. Generally speaking, make sure to give the proper support without telling them the word. For this reason, it helps build good habits that will then help develop mindful readers.