Five Useful Tips for Practicing Reading Fluency

Of all reading skills in the early grades, building reading fluency is THE most important, and most teachers make working on fluency a top priority. However, sometimes we have children who struggle to catch on. In today’s post, I’m going to use a poetry set I’m sharing with you to talk about how I work on fluency using my favorite poems and partner plays.

INTRODUCING YOUR FLUENCY LESSON

As you can see in the image to the right, I chose six words in all. Students can cut them out for matching, use context to get an idea of the meaning, and after discussion, they can write a kid friendly definition on the back with a picture or sentence if you like.

When I’m introducing a new poem, we read through the poem chorally first, and I demonstrate the rhythm and phrasing. To help students with the phrasing, you can add slash marks to divide phrases or highlight with two highlighter colors. This process helps students “see” the phrasing and can be applied to paragraph reading too.

REREAD POETRY FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES TO BUILD FLUENCY

With each reading, students improve automaticity and deepen understanding. With this poem, I chose to include questioning about the poem, word work with parts of speech, visualizing using text information, and making comparisons.

CREATE POETRY ANTHOLOGIES

Kids love keepsakes. If you add each poem you use to a binder or 3 prong folder, your students will each have a book of poems by the end of the year. These can reread on their own, shared with friends, shared with family, and kept forever.

USE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR FLUENCY LESSONS

To download the sample I used, just sign up for my newsletter below. To check out the poetry bundles and resources in my store, click here. I have created a Sports Poetry Bundle, a Poetry on the Menu Bundle, or get them all in my  Poetry Mega Bundle that target grades 2-4 as well as Concept of Word Poetry bundle for Kindergarten and First. I hope you’ll enjoy using this one with your students.

POETRY PINS:

For more poetry ideas, I’ve created this Pinterest board filled with tons of great ideas.

Thanks for joining us, and be sure to come back soon. You can also follow me on Facebook or Instagram where I share things regularly. Until next time, happy reading!