Reading Fluency Training Solves the Most Common Reading Problem in Just 5 Minutes

Reading fluently describes how a skilled reader reads silently or aloud. You can only check reading fluency and improve reading fluency by reading aloud.

Confronting Reading Fluency Problems

Let me give you an example…I met Amanda in February; she was in 5^th grade. She had brown straight hair and a great smile, although she didn’t smile very often then. She was floundering; it took what seemed like ‘forever’ for her to read. Her reading was stilted and she repeated, skipped, and substituted words when she read, too. It was painful to listen to her stilted repetitive reading. Her classmates were zooming right past her. Her mom Sheila was losing sleep over what to do and how to help her. Homework time every night was a struggle! Sheila had already been told by the school that Amanda would most likely be held back.

Sheila, at a loss for what to do contacted me and told me what was going on. First I reassured her that there was much that she could do as a parent to help Amanda. Then we got started.

I knew we needed to work quickly to get her reading level up so that Amanda wouldn’t be held back. One of the keys to Amanda’s improvement was reading fluency training which helped her to sound out words more quickly and read accurately without repeating, skipping or substituting words. By the end of her third session of specific fluency activities she had already improved her reading speed and accuracy. Within several days she went from 35 words per minute to 63 words per minute. Her confidence soared.

What Causes Reading Fluency Problems

Reading problems are quite common and are typically due to a combination of learning skills, areas of perception, that aren’t working as well as they could, should, and can. Now, this is important… you can have a reading problem without having dyslexia or a learning disability. And, yes, even gifted kids can have reading problems! I know, I’ve lived it with my own kids as well as many of my students!

So, what specifically was going on with Amanda?

Amanda did not have an actual learning disability or dyslexia. What Amanda did have was a variety of areas of perception (visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic) that weren’t working as well as they could have been. This really impacted her ability to read fluently. And this impacted homework time too! Homework time was a struggle because it took her so long to read!

Amanda was very bright; she just couldn’t read quickly enough to gain meaning from what she read. So, to improve both Amanda’s speed of reading and her comprehension, a major component of what we did was reading fluency training. The simple reading fluency training only took 5 minutes a day and improved her speed, accuracy, and comprehension as well as the areas of perception that were not working as well as they should have.

Solve Reading Problems with Reading Fluency Training

Reading fluency practice is the most important activity a parent can do to boost reading skills!

• Phonological – incorporates every vowel and consonant combination in the English language, with lots of review built in.
• Perceptual – works on 16 areas of perception and ultimately changes the brain, making it easier to learn.
• Reading from left to right – we read from left to right so it is critical to strengthen the left to right eye-muscle movement required for quick reading
• Automaticity – reading more words automatically per minute on a daily basis.
• Record keeping device – charting their progress and seeing their improvement daily.

Where do I find a reading fluency program that does all of that?

Five Minutes to Better Reading Skills^TM is a GREAT fluency program because it incorporates the five components that need to be in place for reading fluency success and only takes five minutes a day.

Get your copy of Five Minutes to Better Reading Skills today!

Check out our Awaken the Scholar Within Reading/Writing/Study Skills program too! This Awaken the Scholar Within Program incorporates reading fluency, reading comprehension, writing, and study skills in just 20 minutes a day.