Fluency helps with comprehension
The importance of reading fluency for students’ reading comprehension is further supported by a recent National Assessment of Educational Progress report (NAEP, 2021). The study found that oral reading fluency related positively to comprehension on reading tests.
Strategies to use for Fluency improvement
Model fluency: Modeling how to read fluency for students teaches them to use expression when reading. When we model for students it is teaching through the think-aloud method.
Record students: Recording a student reading their fluency lets the students go back and listen to what they read out loud. This helps with immediate feedback and self-reflection.
Connect Phonics skills: Reviewing phonological awareness in fluency is an excellent and necessary practice for learning how to read in First grade. When students practice phonological awareness skills repetitively in Fluency it improves their reading accuracy. It is also great for students to practice phonics skills in context.
Repetition: Setting up repeated reading routines are a must-do strategy. I used to do this every day for 5-10 minutes and I noticed a major improvement in my students and self-confidence in many of my lower students. During your set fluency time for the day, you can have students read the same passage 3-4 times. (You can have your students be silly and read in different voices or do boys. vs. girls)
Differentiate: It helps students and the teacher to make sure each student is reading fluency passages at their own level. It is always hard to find the perfect fit fluency passage that works with your whole class and teaches sound patterns. For this reason, I created a whole year of Fluency passages broken down by sound patterns and three levels for each week's focus. While I was teaching benchmark Advance curriculum in First grade I created and used these with my students.
Try the Short Vowel Fluency Passages for First Grade for Free Here
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