Literacy: Fluency

What does a fluent reader do? (Griffin, 2011)

• They can easily and quickly identify words, letters, and sounds.
• They are able to comprehend the material they are reading (see label Literacy-Comprehension Strategies)
• They use the appropriate intonation and tempo when reading (Example: Rising intonation or falling intonation when reading a question or statement and knows when grammar such as commas indicate a pause in a sentence)

What sort of issues can children have with fluency?

• Frequent pauses and hesitations while reading
• Mispronunciation of words
• The need to reread sentences frequently due to lack of comprehension

What can I do to help my child's fluency?

• Provide a vast array of reading materials for your child on many different subjects.  A mix of informational and fictional text is a good idea.  Make sure your children know that reading is important in your household.  Encourage your child to read books, newspapers, and magazines and also let your child see you and other household members enjoying reading.
• Read aloud to your child and discuss the material with them to ensure better reading comprehension (see label Literacy-Comprehension Strategies)
• Reading the same books to your child over and over again will likely begin to bore them, so it's a good idea to mix up the type of written materials you are reading, however; it is still a good idea to revisit a book that has been previously read from time to time to have different sort of discussions about the book.  This will enrich your child's background knowledge, especially when reading informational texts.

References

Griffin, P. (2011). Fluency [Power Point Slides].  Retrieved from online lecture notes.