Building reading fluency
Reading fluency is the ability to read text easily and quickly without stumbling over words. If a child stumbles over more than 10 words in a set of 40, they are struggling.
The first really good technique, Neurological Impress, was provided in the last article. The other two are described here.
Chomsky Listen and Read
Carol Chomsky increased the fluency of slow readers by having them listen to recorded books until they could read along with the book.
For some children, this meant playing the recording as many as 20 times! And although this may appear to have been an artificially induced fluency, it nonetheless jolted these readers out of their ruts and into the desired behaviour.
One extra benefit of this experiment was that these readers discovered to their joy that they, too, were capable of reading along like everyone else. The self-confidence they gained from the experience broke them free from their previous conceptions of themselves as failures and generated new and successful attempts at reading.
A slightly different Chomsky approach involved having children read easy text (about one or two grades below present grade level) into a recording device.
The children then listened to their reading and followed the story words at the same time to see the matching. Some children needed to do this first step on their own as many as seven times before they were confident enough to read it out loud to an adult.
Repeated Reading: In repeated reading, children first read material with the assistance of a fluent reader, and then re-read the text alone until they can improve their reading rate.
The child can pick a story or book that he or she wants to read or material that is being used in his or her classes. Most children choose materials about or slightly below their instructional reading level at school.
Most children should work with passages that are from 50 to 100 words in length. Starting with just one paragraph, however, is appropriate for beginning and struggling readers. Have your child read the selected passage to you. Provide help with any words the child does not know. Write down the time that was required to read the material.
Then have your child practice re-reading the material without any help for three to four minutes. Next, the child is timed as he or she re-reads the passage to you. The same approach is used with the next paragraph or passage. A child should read at least three times in each text in a repeated reading session. This method needs to be used at least four times a week.
Variation: Use material of 50 to 200 words that is relatively easy for your child to read. Have the child read along with you or with a recorded tape at a moderate rate. Time how long it takes to read the passage. Then have your child read the same material alone until he or she can read it in the same amount of time.
When the child is able to read the material to you in the desired time, repeat the procedure with a new passage. A session should last for at least 10 minutes.
Dr. Steve Lydiatt is a practising educational psychologist. He has been a teacher, consultant in autism, university professor and director of a disabilities centre. His specialties include learning disabilities and children’s behaviour issues. Email: drsteve.educistics@gmail.com.