Activities for Developing Reading Fluency
Reading fluency involves more than simply reading words seamlessly. Fluent readers often comprehend more of what they read because they don't have to stop to decipher every word. Fluency includes accuracy, speed and prosody, which basically means the ability read with inflection, appropriate pauses and stress on certain words and phrases.
Other People Are Reading
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Books on Tape
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Books on tape allow students to hear the words and read along with them. This guided practice helps them increase fluency as they follow along. They hear how the reader on the tape emphasizes certain words and reads with emotion. Listen to the books on tape before using them to make sure they offer a good example for fluency. Once the kids listen and read along a few times, they can read the books on their own more fluently.
Choral Reading
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Choral reading simply means reading a passage together as a class. Choral reading also works well in small groups. If you have a parent helper, send a small group of kids with her to do choral reading. The teacher or other adult serves as the leader to keep the group together. She also models appropriate intonation for the students to hear. Choose a passage that all of the students can handle. Use previous reading assessments to determine a passage at an appropriate reading level. The activity works best if each child has his own copy of the passage.
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Readers' Theater
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Readers' theater is a version of a play where the students read from a script. They don't actually act out the play, instead they creating meaning through their voices. Performing readers' theater requires the students to read their lines several times, which helps improve fluency. They must also use their voices to convey meaning, which is another component of fluency.
Partner Reading
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Reading with a partner gives both kids the chance to improve their fluency. This fluency activity works best when a strong, fluent reader works with a student who needs improvement in reading fluency. The more fluent reader reads the passage first to model accuracy and intonation. The less fluent student then reads the passage. This is also a good activity for students in higher grades to do with students in lower grades.
Repeated Readings
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Repeated reading accompanies many fluency activities. The more a student reads a passage, the more fluent he becomes. He doesn't need to stop and decipher each word and can focus more on the meaning of the passage. After the students read a passage a few times in the classroom, send it home for them to practice with their parents.
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References
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