Reading is one of the most vital skills in today’s day and age. However, merely knowing how to read isn’t enough. One must be able to read fluently and confidently. Now, reading fluency is all about reading accurately and at a good pace, along with the right expression. Having said that, just as much important it is to work on the reading fluency of your child, it is equally important to begin working in this direction early on. We at Delhi Public School Kangra, one of the best schools in Kangra, have seen that when children are introduced to reading at an early age, they not only grow up into fluent and avid readers but also get hold of strong language and comprehension skills.
There are many ways of contributing to your child’s reading fluency. While we at our school leave no stone unturned in ensuring that our students know how to read well, we are sharing with you here a few ways you can aid in this direction at home.
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Display your reading fluency
Needless to say, you, as a parent, are your child’s role model. When they see you reading fluently, they are sure to follow suit. Here, you can start by reading a page from a book, after which you must prompt your child to do so. Just keep in mind that while providing that model, try to read in an excited tone and with prize-winning expressions. Do not also forget to pause at appropriate times. All this showcases your command over the language and will not merely help to keep your child engaged but also encourage the child to willingly take up more of reading activities. However, an important point to note here is to make sure that while showcasing your own fluency, you do not end up overcorrecting your child in his/her reading endeavors, or else the child will withdraw himself from the activity.
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Help your child track words
Learning a language is not as easy for a child as it may seem to an adult. From deciphering where one word ends to knowing when the next one starts during conversations, your child can find it difficult. Furthermore, they may not be able to follow you when you read stories to them. As such, the onus comes to you to help them.
Start by showing them the words as you are reading them. Better still, you can tell them to track what you are reading aloud. By doing so, you will help them to understand the spoken and written language. With enough practice, your little learner will soon become equipped to handle larger phrases with ease.
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Engage the child in some fun-filled choral reading sessions
You need not have singing skills to enjoy choral reading sessions with your little wonder. You only need to read a story aloud and then ask your kid to read together with you at the same pace. This way, they will get the taste of fluent reading and will start practicing at your pace. However, pick a book that they can read on their own. This will help them work at their pace with accuracy and fluency.
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Pay attention to sight words
Sight words refer to those words that appear pretty frequently in our reading and writing, such as come, it, who, etc. They lack any concrete image to relate to, and thus, many kids find them a little challenging in the beginning. Well, you can help your child to memorize these words, after which they start to recognize them. This way, they will not end up sounding out these words, which will give them more reading time. Try playing a game to teach sight words to your child. Start by spelling the words out with magnetic letters. Follow by writing them on a piece of paper. Then, ask your child to use a fly swatter to smack the right word as you say it. Alternatively, you can use activity packs to make learning easy for them.
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Have a gathering of pets and toys
Reading aloud is a good way of improving reading fluency. However, we can’t ignore the fact that some children may not feel comfortable reading in front of other people. They feel shy or come under pressure in such situations. A good way to help these kids is to create an audience for them with your family pet and stuffed toy animals to put them at ease. This way, your child will be able to practice reading aloud without having to feel shy. However, make sure to tell them that they must focus on their tone, pitch, volume, expressions, gestures, and voice even when they are reading to their toys. Over time and with enough practice, they will not just get good at reading fluently but may also get rid of the fear of facing a real audience.
Conclusion
There are so many ways in which you can teach your child to read fluently. You can go ahead and try out the ways as discussed in this article above or may also figure out your own to make your kids learn to read fluently. All that matters is that you remain consistent in making your child read. We at DPS Kangra, one of the top schools in Kangra, firmly believe that consistency and patience is the key here. We would thus like to advise the parents to keep giving your child an encouraging nudge to indulge in reading every single day. Even if it is a single para that they read each day, you have to ensure that they don’t skip reading no matter what. With practice and patience, you will soon see your child grow into a fluent reader.