Russ on Reading: Fluency Practice: Poems for Repeated Reading

Russ on Reading: Fluency Practice: Poems for Repeated Reading

Fluency Practice: Poems for Repeated Reading

Over the years, I have written quite often about fluency instruction in reading. Fluency, the smooth, rapid processing of print when reading, is central to skilled reading. It is often what keeps young readers from advancing in their reading and it is often noticeably missing from many struggling readers efforts. Here are some of the posts I have written about fluency instruction in the past.

Fluency Instruction: Building Bridges

When Readers Struggle: Fluency

The Power of Rereading

That Thing You Do: When Readers Plateau, Try Pushing Fluency

I have always used poetry to support young and struggling readers developing fluency. With April being Poetry Month it seems to be a good time to revisit these strategies, which can be readily adapted for online or at home work. The lesson structure is as follows:

            Pre-reading Activities: Before reading the poem, activate background knowledge and interest through discussion. Using the title, illustration or an appropriate question as a stimulus, have the children make predictions about what they will read in the poem. Some possible discussion starters are included on the Teacher’s Guide page for each poem. These pre-reading discussions will help the children anticipate what they will read and CONTINUE READING: Russ on Reading: Fluency Practice: Poems for Repeated Reading