How to Help Your Child Read With More Fluency

Reading fluency leads to better reading comprehension, but sometimes, you may feel at a loss when your child is stumbling over words. These three tricks and accompanying books will build your early reader’s fluency (the ability to read out loud accurately, with expression, and at a good pace) to promote academic success and reading for fun outside of school. 

Learn more about mastering reading fluency with these three key tips, and shop the recommended books to start employing each strategy today. Shop all books at The Scholastic Store. 

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Tip 1: Read Books Out Loud at the Same Time

Try choral reading, in which your child reads out loud with you and tries to match your pace. This will help them get used to what fluent reading sounds and feels like. Pick a book they can already read independently, so they spend this time working on pacing rather than decoding words.

These five popular books incorporate rhythm, dialogue, or humor — all elements that are perfect for choral reading. 

Tip 2: Act Out Stories Like a Play

Performing a text that is mostly dialogue — like speech bubble books or graphic novels — encourages kids to use the same tone of voice the characters might use in any given situation, improving their reading expression (as mentioned before, this is an important part of reading fluency).

These five dialogue-rich books give your child the ideal opportunity to practice award-winning acting with you.  

Tip 3: Use Learning Resources Designed to Build Skills 

Stock up on book sets and activity books that fine-tune early reading skills like sight word recognition or decoding. Once those basic skills are mastered, reading fluency will come more naturally.

Shop these learning resources that are popular with parents!