Reading Fluency

We have been practicing our oral reading fluency in Language Arts this year. Fluent readers read aloud with expression and accuracy, at a pace similar to their everyday speech. They know most common words by sight and rarely have to slow down to decode them. Fluent readers comprehend more of what they read, have a much greater chance to successfully analyze difficult words in a text, and have a greater likelihood of actually enjoying reading.

We practice our oral reading fluency in the classroom through daily, repeated readings. We also take regular fluency tests to gauge the students’ growth. A sixth grader, in the beginning of the school year, should be reading 126 or more words accurately in one minute (without prior practice of the reading passage). This number will gradually increase as the year progresses.

A simple way to practice oral reading fluency at home is to choose a passage from a book appropriate for your child’s reading level. The selected passage should be around 200 words in length. Your child should read and reread the passage until he or she can read it with little or no hesitation. You may provide assistance on especially difficult words during this practice. You may even want to time your child’s reading of the passage for one minute and have your child count how many words they read in that time.

These practice sessions may only take 5-10 minutes a night, but if they are done consistently, your child’s oral reading fluency will begin to show steady improvement. They will know more words by sight, hesitate less while reading, and begin to understand and even enjoy reading more.

Thank you for encouraging reading practice at home and contributing to your child’s success at school!