When your students have mastered the basics of reading, they will begin developing fluency or the ability to read easily and with expression. Being fluent is reading a sentence without stumbling over words and still being able to understand what they are reading along the way. However, reading fluency can be challenging for some young readers.
A child, by the end of the second grade should be able to read with expression. They are able to pause for periods and add inflection in sentences that end in question marks or exclamation points. They are also able to read voice and emotion into the characters in stories. When they reach the third grade and beyond, their fluency is what helps them read and learn at the same time.
To know whether your child is able to read with fluency, it is helpful if the teacher (or parent) could do a reading check-up. Ask the student to read aloud some books or magazine. After reading, ask the student questions about what he has read. If he finds it difficult to read individual words and was not able to understand what he has just read, he is not a fluent reader yet.
What you can do as a teacher is to help him develop his fluency. Here are some effective ways on how to do just that:
1. Choose high-success reading materials or books. Dr. Allington states that a child should be able to read with 99% accuracy. That means he only misses one word for every 100 words he reads. Have the student read a page from a book and instruct him to hold up his hand when he finds a word difficult for him to read. The more times he held his hand high, the book could be too difficult for him.
2. Have shared reading sessions with the students. Choose books with lots of dialogue and take turns reading them. During these sessions, a student is able to understand the story and you are also modelling fluent reading this way. The student is also able to practice word recognition and spelling patterns.
3. Encourage the student to choose what they like to read as long as you know the reading material is appropriate for their age level or something that is not restricted for children. Making them enjoy reading helps activate the reading centers of the brain and enhance their reading fluency. It also makes them see the value and fun of reading.
4. Let the student practice focus reading or deep reading. This is asking the student to read the same reading material repeatedly. You can put an audience or make the students act out the book.
5. Music lyrics are very nice reading materials. Allow the student to read song lyrics along the song. This helps develop comprehension and can deepen vocabulary as well. Also, the mood of the song can contribute to the emotions of the reader thus enabling him to possibly read the text with feelings.
6. Make sure you monitor the student’s progress. Interrupt when he has mistakes so he would know the specific word or words he has wrongly read. You will be able to put inputs as well.
Finally, if you choose the right books which no student cannot put down, you are on your first step to helping him develop reading fluency as you continue doing reading sessions with him.
References:
Dawn Dodson (2010-04-20). Teaching Reading Fluency. Lesson Planet. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
“Teaching Reading: Report and Recommendations”. Commonwealth Copyright. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
Wolf, Maryanne; Stoodley, Catherine J. (2007). Proust and the squid: the story and science of the reading brain. New York: Harper. pp. 81–83.
By: MARIA MAY S. FORIO | MT-I | BEPZ Elementary School | Mariveles, Bataan
