Building Reading Fluency

In Year 7 English this term, students have studied the novel ‘Blueback’ by Tim Winton. As part of this unit of work, teachers have been using a variety of evidence-based strategies to improve reading. One particularly successful strategy has been ‘fluency pairs.’ In order to increase student fluency, readers need experience reading to and listening to other readers of all kinds; ‘fluency pairs’ are all about providing this experience. In this strategy, students read short sections of text aloud to each other and provide targeted feedback about accuracy, rate or expression, supported by the teacher. This builds student confidence by reading aloud in a supported setting and is proven to build fluency when part of regular class routine. Whilst our Blueback unit is coming to an end, this strategy is something you can practise at home with your child, both in English and in your first language. 

1. Choose a passage that your child can read with few errors in 1-2 minutes.
2. Model fluent reading of the passage. Ask your child for feedback on how you read, specifically your accuracy, rate and expression.
3. Then have your child read the passage to you. Wait three seconds before providing any unknown words.
4. Provide specific positive or corrective feedback to your child after each reading, mentioning accuracy, rate or expression.
5. Repeat with the same passage if necessary or move on to the next passage/page when ready.
6. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes to do this, ideally three times a week.

Madalin Coghlan,

Literacy Leading Teacher.