6 Super Effective Reading Fluency Tips for Parents

Reading fluency tips for parents to skyrocket your child’s reading.

Reading fluency is a crucial skill that lays the foundation for a child’s literacy journey. As parents, we have the power to nurture this skill and empower our children to read with confidence and enjoyment. In this article, we’ll explore effective strategies to promote reading fluency in children, from the importance of reading aloud to the value of phonics and phonemic awareness.

As a parent, I’ve witnessed firsthand the joy and wonder that comes from watching my child develop her reading skills. Reading fluency, in particular, has been a key milestone in her literacy journey.

I’m often asked by surprised caregivers how I taught my 2.5 year old to read!(if you’re interested, you can read more about that here).

In this article, I’ll share my experiences and offer reading flunecy tips for parents to help nurture fluency in their children.

This post is about reading fluency tips for parents

6 Effective Strategies to Help Children Develop Reading Fluency

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1. Understanding Reading Fluency

Reading fluency goes beyond simply decoding words—it encompasses the ability to read smoothly, accurately, and with expression.

When a child reads fluently, they can focus more on comprehending the text rather than struggling with individual words.

This fluency-comprehension connection is vital for academic success and fostering a lifelong love of reading.

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2. Reading Aloud to Your Child

Reading aloud to your child is one of the most powerful ways to promote reading fluency. By modeling fluent reading and exposing children to a rich variety of texts, parents can ignite their child’s imagination and curiosity.

Make reading sessions interactive by asking questions, discussing the story, and encouraging your child to read along.

One of my favorite activities as a parent is reading aloud to my child.

It’s a special time for us to bond over stories and adventures. I’ve noticed how reading aloud has not only improved my child’s fluency but also sparked her imagination and love for books.

reading fluency tips for parents — my little one devouring her books after a trip to the library

Don’t be afraid to add your own flair and excitement to storytelling—it makes the experience even more magical.

These are some of the best selling books for toddlers on Amazon:

The Gruffalo
If Anim als Kissed Good Night
De ar Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book
Brown Bear, Brown Bea r, What Do You See?
The Ve ry Hungry Caterpillar

3. Utilizing Phonics and Phonemic Awareness

If there is one tip that you take from this article, let it be this: do not underestimate the power of phonics. Phonics and phonemic awareness are fundamental building blocks of reading fluency.

If you don’t already know, phonics teaches children the relationship between letters and sounds, while phonemic awareness helps them recognize and manipulate individual sounds in words.

Incorporate phonics activities into daily routines, such as playing word games and reading phonics-based books together.

A lot of reading methods teach children to read by memorizing sight words.

This is NOT the correct methodology of teaching reading. Instead, the correct method is to focus on teaching phonics and phonemic awareness.

Not sure where to start?

Honestly I was in the exact same boat. How do I begin teaching when I myself don’t know the correct methodology?

That’s when I stumbled upon this reading program that literally changed my child’s reading trajectory.

The program is called Children Learning Reading and is designed to teach children as young as 2 years old how to read!

It’s methodological, step by step and the results have been incredible for me (and thousands of other elated parents).

The best part is that you literally have to take out only 10 minutes a day to see some amazing results within a few weeks.

You can check out my review of Children Learning Rea ding here where I go over exactly what helped my 2 year old learn reading at such a young age.

4. Repetition and Practice

Repetition! This is one of the best reading fluency tips for parents to follow. Encourage your child to read the same book multiple times, allowing them to become more confident and fluent with each reading.

Repeated reading usually leads to better reading performance. The biggest payoffs tend to be with word reading, but it also has been found to improve oral reading fluency and reading comprehension.
reading rockets

Establish a regular reading routine and provide ample opportunities for practice. Celebrate your child’s progress and offer praise and encouragement along the way.

Repetition has been a cornerstone of our reading routine. My daughter would love to read the same story books again and again. And each reading would bring with it new discoveries and insights.

5. Make Reading Fun Through Activities

You want your child to become a fluent reader? The quickest and easiest way is to make reading FUN for your child. It should never feel like a chore!

When teaching my 2 year old to read, I’d make the whole thing into a game. We’d do so many fun reading activities together – she would always be begging if we could play more!

If something is fun, your kids will want to do it more and more. And that repetition is exactly what will help them achieve reading fluency.

I’ve put together some really fun and engaging reading activities that your little one will LOVE DOING! They cover the fundamentals of reading like beginning sounds, CVC words and word families etc and are simple enough for a 2-3 year old to do easily. They also incorporate super fun elements like matching, cutting and pasting, coloring and tracing.

Get your free download!

6. Encouraging Independent Reading

Fostering a love for reading is essential for building reading fluency.

Create a supportive reading environment at home by setting up a cozy reading nook and providing access to a variety of books.

Encourage your child to explore different genres and discover what interests them. Celebrate their achievements and nurture their love for reading.

Interested in teaching your child to read fluently and have no clue where to begin?

If you’re like me, you want to start teaching your kids to read fluently but you have absolutely no idea how to begin. I stumbled across Children Learning Reading completely by accident and I was so glad I did.

Children Learning Reading is a phonics based method of teaching little ones to read, perfectly crafted for the 2-6 year old age group. It’s what I used for my 2.5 year old and I saw some incredibly impressive results.

And I’m not alone. You can see the raving reviews from thousands of other parents who couldn’t believe how quickly their kids learned to read fluently!