Reading fluency is an important part of literacy. Fluency includes accuracy, rate, and comprehension. Fluency is a skill that takes lots of practice!
Having our students read aloud to us will help them develop fluency. Fluency is a lifelong skill that students need for college and career readiness. Reading fluency helps students decode words, understand the meaning of the text, and comprehend what they read.
In order to help our young learners achieve fluency, there are many different activities that can be used. The following are some examples of fluency activities for all students, but they can be especially helpful for English language learners.
Keep in mind that fluency is one of the last skills your growing readers will master. It takes a lot of work {in decoding and comprehension!} before your students
Accuracy Fluency Activities for Young Learners
When working on reading fluency with your students, it is important to focus on accuracy first and then move on to speed. This will help ensure that students are able to understand what they are reading and are less likely to make mistakes. In order to help your beginning readers improve their reading fluency accuracy, try some of the following activities!
Choral Reading
Choral reading is a great way to help English Language Learners develop reading accuracy. This is where the teacher reads a passage aloud and the students repeat after them. Use choral reading when introducing a new text as it will help with pronunciation and understanding.
It’s fun to use silly poems or Nursery Rhymes since they have a natural cadence.
Echo Reading
Another fluency accuracy activity is echo reading. In echo reading, the teacher reads a sentence or phrase and the students repeat it back. This can then be followed up with questions to check for understanding.
Fluency Drills
Fluency drills involve the teacher saying a word or phrase and the students repeating it back as quickly as possible. This will help with speed and pronunciation.
This can get silly pretty quickly but it’s sure to be a fun activity with your students!
Rate and Speed Fluency Activities for English Language Learners
Once students have mastered accuracy, they can then move on to rate or speed. Here are some reading fluency activities for English language learners to help with rate.
Fluency Passages
Try fluency passages that have been specifically designed to help with rate. They usually have a lot of repetition and simple sentences.
Timed Reading
Students are given a set amount of time to read a passage in timed reading. This will help them to read at a quicker pace. It takes lots of practice for English Language Learners to finish a passage in the given amount of time. Keep encouraging them to improve!
Reading Races
Reading races are one of my favorite ways to practice rate and speed. This is where students are divided into teams and they have to see who can read a passage the quickest. Keep in mind – this is NOT a great strategy for every group of students!
Fluency Phones
A fun way for your students to hear their building fluency is to use these Fluency Phones. These phones amplify voices. So your students simply read into the phone and they can hear themselves! It’s a fun way to perk up an otherwise mundane activity 🙂
Reading Comprehension Activities for English Language Learners
Fluency is not just about accuracy and rate, it is also about comprehension. Comprehension is what many teachers and students think of when it comes to reading fluently. Here are some reading comprehension fluency activities to get started.
Retelling
After reading a passage, the students can then retell it to the teacher or in a small group. This will help to check for understanding and identify any areas that need to be clarified.
Q and A
The students can be given a list of comprehension questions to answer after reading a passage. Questions help them to focus on key information and check for understanding.
Summary
Ask students to write a summary of the text they have just read. This will help them to identify the main points and check for understanding.
Identifying the Main Idea
Identifying the main idea of the text helps students focus on the most important information. Main idea is a perfect way to check for understanding.
If you want to extend the retelling into a writing activity, check out these response sheets.
Overall, reading fluency activities are important for English language learners because they help improve reading accuracy, speed, and comprehension. By doing these activities, students will be better prepared to succeed in school and in life.
