Repeated Readings to Build Fluency and Automaticity

 Boosting Fluency with Repeated Reading

One great way to help students build reading fluency is through repeated reading. By giving them time to reread simple books, students become more familiar with the text, which helps them read more smoothly and confidently.

As a teacher or parent, you can model expressive reading to show how punctuation and tone change the meaning of a story. Often times, students become overwhelmed by so many words on the page, so instead create sentence strips. The adult will write a sentence  on the strip that features the phonics they are currently learning. Have the student decode the words and reread it, then five them another strip with a different sentence. Each strip should be a bit more difficult than the previous. If you notice that the student is struggling to progress, take a step back and reteach the phonics feature and sight words.

Encourage students to practice reading aloud with a partner or even to a stuffed animal! This makes it fun and less intimidating. The more they practice, the more fluent they’ll become, helping them enjoy reading even more.

So, grab a book, read it again, and watch their fluency soar!

P.S.: Here's a link to purchase sentence strips on Amazon.com. The dry erase ones are the best!