You know that student in your class – the one who can sound out every word but reads as… slowly… as… molasses? Their decoding skills are solid, but getting through a paragraph feels like running a marathon.
When teachers ask me how to increase reading fluency for these students, I completely understand their frustration. It’s tough to watch a capable student struggle, especially when you know they understand so much more than they can smoothly read.
Let me share something that transformed how I approach helping these readers. Jan Hasbrouck says, “We don’t want to help them read fast… we want them to help them read well.” That stopped me in my tracks. Because yes – while we want to increase reading fluency, pushing for speed alone misses the point entirely.
Think about how to increase reading fluency like learning to play piano. You don’t start with a complicated piece at full tempo. You practice slowly, get the notes right, and gradually build up speed.
Reading fluency works the same way. We’re aiming for that sweet spot where the words flow naturally, and your student can focus on understanding the story instead of wrestling with each word.
The Truth About Fluency (That Might Surprise You)
Here’s something I wish I’d known earlier in my teaching career: fluency work isn’t just for our little ones. I used to think once students hit fourth grade, we could move on from fluency practice. But as Tim Rasinski (who’s basically the rockstar of reading fluency) points out, how students read out loud directly connects to how they read in their heads.
This makes so much sense when you think about it. As texts get harder – with bigger words and more complex sentences – students need that automatic reading more than ever. Learning how to increase reading fluency becomes even more critical as texts become more complex. It’s like trying to juggle while riding a bike. If you’re still thinking about pedaling, those balls are definitely going to drop!
Let’s Break This Down Into Doable Steps
I’m going to share my favorite approach for how to increase reading fluency. I’ve used this with hundreds of students, and while it’s based on solid research, I’ve tweaked it to work in real classrooms with real time constraints.
1. Start Small (Like, Really Small)
Begin with individual words your students will actually use. I was working with a class studying ecosystems, so we practiced words like:
- rainforest
- tropical
- canopy
- temperate
- habitat
But here’s the key that makes this work: Don’t just drill these words. Make them real. After a student reads “tropical,” I might say, “Have you ever been somewhere tropical? No? What do you think it would feel like there?” Now we’re connecting reading to meaning, and that’s where the magic happens when figuring out how to increase reading fluency.
2. Build Those Bridges
Once your students are comfortable with the words, string them together into phrases. It’s like moving from practicing individual dance steps to putting them together in a sequence. Try phrases like:
- rainforests are warm
- wet habitats
- canopy of the tropical rainforest
- temperate rainforests are cooler
I love this step because you can actually see the moment when students stop sounding out each word and start reading chunks smoothly. It’s like watching puzzle pieces click into place. This middle step is often overlooked when discussing how to increase reading fluency, but it’s absolutely crucial for bridging the gap between word reading and passage reading.
3. Put It All Together
Now comes the fun part – reading full passages that use these practiced words and phrases. This is where you’ll start hearing expression creep into their reading, and let me tell you, there’s nothing better than when a previously struggling reader starts making a passage sound like natural speech.
The gradual release approach is really what makes this method of how to increase reading fluency so effective. Students build confidence at each level before moving to the next challenge.
