# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ECS 575 - Digital Bulletin Board: Phonemic Awareness

# data[].attributes.body
Rhyming is one aspect of phonemic awareness that emphasizes grouping words with similar ending sounds together. Rhyming activities are great for engaging students in the exploration of sounds within words. Teachers can guide students to focus on recognizing and identifying rhyming words. It is also useful to help students produce rhyming words, even if they are made up, to teach them how to group words by their common sounds.

One classroom activity that teachers can implement in the early childhood classroom is a body part rhyming game in which students are given a spoken word describing a body part that they must find a rhyme to (i.e., "head"). The teacher may begin by using framing questions to introduce the concept of rhyming words and their similar sounds (i.e., "Does 'head' rhyme with 'red'?"). As the students develop their understanding, the teacher can ask the students to come up with their own words that rhyme with the chosen body part (Reading Rockets, 2024b).

Children in early childhood are just beginning to build foundational skills in phonemic awareness, and activities like this allow them the opportunity to play around with different sounds, increasing their awareness. To differentiate this activity for students with exceptionalities, visual supports may be provided with the word pairs to help students draw associations. Students may also require repetition during this activity, needing teachers to slow down and enunciate the sounds within the words multiple times before understanding. Another way to differentiate this activity is to choose simpler body parts to rhyme with, gradually increasing the difficulty as the children develop a better understanding of the lesson.

# data[].attributes.body
Segmenting words is a phonemic awareness skill that refers to breaking spoken words down into their individual sounds, or phonemes. Students must focus on identifying phonemes in words in order to segment the words by their sounds. Segmentation is an essential skill that serves as one of the foundational building blocks for reading and writing development (Janelle, 2024).

In this tactile segmenting activity, students will be provided with little balls of clay or play dough to squash for each phoneme they say for a given word. For example, in the word "cup," students would need to squash three little balls of play dough for /c/, /u/, and /p/.

This activity is developmentally appropriate for young learners as they are developing their fine motor skills and learning foundational reading skills. The play dough makes this activity engaging for the students and serves as a tactile tool for students to learn and retain information.

To differentiate this activity for children with exceptionalities, the teacher may swap out play dough for something easier to physically handle, such as using a pop-it to count phonemes instead. Teachers can also adjust the difficulty of this activity by giving the students words with more or less phonemes, or more complex phonemes.

# data[].attributes.headline
Practice at Home: Initial Phoneme Treasure Box

# data[].attributes.subject
Practice at Home: Initial Phoneme Treasure Box

# data[].attributes.body
The identification of initial phonemes can be made fun and simple to try at home! Parents can encourage their children to practice identifying initial phonemes by sending them on a treasure hunt to search for items beginning with a specific sound. They can bring this back to their "treasure box" and have their parent review the items in the box and determine what should be kept in and what items do not belong. For example, if they were searching to objects that begin with /t/, they may place items such as a toy tiger, tree, triangle, and train.

This activity is an engaging way to help children develop their phonemic awareness as they are encouraged to use their own cognitive skills to search for items that fit the criteria of the box. For children with exceptionalities, this activity can be modified by providing the children a set of toys to sort through and place in the box, rather than having them search on their own. Children can also choose from a field of 5 items to place in the box. This activity encourage independent thinking on the children's part, and provides a simple assessment for parents to monitor their understanding of the activity by allowing checking the items in the box.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides very useful information that details phonemic awareness, its role and importance in reading success, and different activities to help your child develop this skill. The activities listed in this resource can be offer a wide variety to fit the needs of children with and without exceptionalities. From tactile to visual to kinesthetic learning, this website provides activities that appeal to different learning styles and can be adjusted to support student needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
That's a complicated sounding term, but it's meaning is simple: the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the sounds in spoken language. Phonological awareness is really a group of skills that include a child's ability to:

Identify words that rhyme

Count the number of syllables in a name

Recognize alliteration (words with the same beginning sound)

Segment (break) a sentence into words

Identify the syllables in a word

The most sophisticated phonological awareness skill (and the last to develop) is called phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and play with the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. When playing with the sounds in word, children learn to:

Blend individual sounds to make a word

Stretch out a word into its individual sounds

Swap in a different sound to the beginning, middle, or end of a word to make a new word

Strong phonemic awareness is one of the strongest predictors of later reading success. Children who struggle with reading, including kids with dyslexia, often have trouble with phonemic awareness, but with the right kind of instruction they can be successful. Learn some of the warning signs for dyslexia in this article, Clues to Dyslexia in Early Childhood.

Parents can make a big difference in helping their children become readers by practicing these pre-reading oral skills at home. Try some of the simple rhyming and word sound games described here.

Try these speech sound activities at home

Rhyme time

"I am thinking of an animal that rhymes with big. What's the animal?" Answer: pig. What else rhymes with big? ( dig, fig, wig)

Road trip rhymes

While you're out driving in the car, spot something out the window and ask your child, "what rhymes with tree or car or shop?" Then switch roles and have your child spot something and ask you for a rhyme. This can turn into a game of nonsense rhymes ("What rhymes with tree stump?") but that's great for practicing sounds, too!

Word families

Word families are sets of words that rhyme. Start to build your family by giving your child the first word, for example, cat. Then ask your child to name all the "kids" in the cat family, such as: bat, fat, sat, rat, pat, mat, hat, flat. This will help your child hear patterns in words.

Silly tongue twisters

Sing songs and say silly tongue twisters. These help your child become sensitive to the sounds in words.

Tongue ticklers

Alliteration or "tongue ticklers" - where the sound you're focusing on is repeated over and over again - can be a fun way to provide practice with a speech sound. Try these:

For M: Miss Mouse makes marvelous meatballs!

For S: Silly Sally sings songs about snakes and snails.

For F: Freddy finds fireflies with a flashlight.

Syllable shopping

While at the grocery store, have your child tell you the syllables in different food names. Have them hold up a finger for each word part. Eggplant = egg-plant, two syllables. Pineapple = pine-ap-ple, three syllables. Show your child the sign for each and ask her to say the word.

"I spy" first sounds

Practice beginning sounds with this simple "I spy" game at home, on a walk, or at the grocery store. Choose words with distinctive, easy-to-hear beginning sounds. For example, if you're in the bathroom you can say, "I spy something red that starts with the "s" ssss sound ( soap)."

Sound scavenger hunt

Choose a letter sound, then have your child find things around your house that start with the same sound. "Can you find something in our house that starts with the letter "p" pppppp sound? Picture, pencil, pear "

Which letter sounds do I teach first?

Reading expert Linda Farrell recommends that you begin with teaching the letter names, and then focus on the letter sounds that are closest to their letter names (such as /v/). And here's a great tip for teaching the trickier letter name-letter sound combinations - use arm motions. In this video, Linda demonstrates motions for /x/ and /y/. (From our video series Reading SOS: Expert Answers to Family Questions About Reading.)

Sound games

Practice blending sounds into words. Ask "Can you guess what this word is? m - o - p." Hold each sound longer than normal.

First sounds

When you're reading together with your child, pick a word from the book and say it with emphasis on the first sound. Pick another word and compare them. "Zzz-zookeeper and rrr-rhinoceros. Can you hear what sound zzz-zookeeper starts with? Is it the same as rrr-rhinoceros?

Jump, skip, hop!

Create simple picture cards that you draw or cut out of magazines. Have your child, identify what's in the picture, and then break that word into its individual sounds. For example dog is d-o-g, three sounds (phonemes). Three sounds? You and your child do three jumping jacks, skips, or hops (followed by a high-five). You can also do this game outdoors without the cards, just call out simple words for your child.

Snail talk

Tell your child you're going to communicate in "snail talk" and they need to figure out what you're saying. Take a simple word and stretch it out very slowly (e.g., /fffffllllaaaag/), then ask your child to tell you the word. Switch roles and have your child stretch out a word for you.

"I spy" blending

Here's an easy phoneme blending game you can play while talking a walk. For blending, you can say, "I see a sign that says s-t-o-p" Then your child has to blend the sounds to guess your word - stop. (Remember to say only the sounds in the word - not the letters.) Keep the words short, moving from two to three to four sounds depending on your child's skill level.

Sound counting

Using LEGO bricks, beads, or pennies, say a word and have your child show you how many sounds the word makes. For example, top = t-o-p = three sounds, so your child would place three objects in a row. Then have them tap each object as they say the sound. Remember, your child is just showing you the sounds they hear. So the word bike would be = b-i-k (silent e) = only three sounds.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Phonological and Phonemic Awareness: Activities for Your Kindergartener

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Phonological and phonemic awareness are important pre-reading skills, related to the ability to hear, identify, and play with the sounds in spoken language - including rhymes, syllables, and the smallest units of sound (phonemes). Children with strong phonological awareness skills are ready to become readers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ECS 575 - Digital Bulletin Board: Phonics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ECS 575 - Digital Bulletin Board: Vocabulary

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ECS 575 - Digital Bulletin Board: Fluency

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
ECS 575- Digital Bulletin Board: Comprehension

# data[].attributes.body
Phonics is taught throughout early childhood in classrooms and can focus on one specific sound at a time. Phonics bingo is a great whole-class activity that can be used to practice the sounds that are taught in phonics lessons.

For this activity, students would follow the regular rules of Bingo, where each child would get a card to stamp or place a marker on as the teacher calls out the words. This game can be played multiple times and is very versatile to the teacher's and students' needs.

This activity can be adjusted by printing out a new Bingo card with words that are taught with the current phonics lesson. For example, if the class had just learned about the letter-sound correspondence for the short vowel sounds, the card may consist of words such as "cat" and "win." As students demonstrate mastery of short vowels, they may move on to long vowel sounds and the "magic 'e'" in words such as "make" and "dive." The level of difficulty for this activity is easily adapted to the level of the students.

# data[].attributes.body
Young learners benefit a lot from kinesthetic learning, with improved retention of material, engagement, and problem-solving skills. This classroom activity allows students to learn through social interactions and movements that enhance cognitive function.

For this activity, students will each be given a letter of the alphabet. They must practice sounding out their letter to familiarize them with the letter-sound relationship. Then, students will get the opportunity to get up and look around the classroom for other students with letters to create words.

This activity can be adjusted to fit the needs of the students by providing them with letters that are easier for them to understand, or assigning the word that they will be making so that the students would simply need to solve the sound-out puzzle!

# data[].attributes.body
Magnetic letters is a great way for young children to engage with phonics practice from the comfort and convenience of their own home. Parents can ask the children to arrange the letters in alphabetical order, pick out a letter of the day, and create simple words beginning with that letter. The magnets are an accessible toy that allows children to explore the alphabet by rearranging them into different combinations to make words. They can also try to sound out their words, moving one letter to the side as they decode them.

This activity is very versatile and can be adjusted to fit the needs of each child. If the child is unfamiliar with the alphabetic principle, they can use the magnets to practice sounding out each letter, placing their mastered letters to one side of the fridge and keeping the rest for review. Depending on the child's learning goal, the parent can alter the function of these magnets to provide the best phonics practice at home!

# data[].attributes.body
For more practice on phonics at home, Starfall is a free website that provides interactive phonics lessons to young children using music, visuals, and engagement activities. Children with access to this resource can explore the website on their own and play around with each alphabet activity. This is a great resource for young learners because they are able to go at their own pace of learning, moving forward or reviewing previous lessons as they wish. There is even a section on the different types of vowel sounds accompanied by engaging visuals and music.

# data[].attributes.body
Acting out a story is a great way for young children to demonstrate their understanding and comprehension of read material. Just as Reader's Theater targets fluency, acting out a story can target the improvement of reading comprehension. Physically acting out a text enhances reading comprehension. By acting out a scene from a story, students are encouraged to think about what they read and express their interpretation of its meaning. In this activity, the teacher can read a story with the class and ask the students to use their performance skills to show what happened. For example, when reading "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff, the students may act out the actions of the mouse that is described as the story develops. This activity creates a fun and silly environment for students to learn and an engaged reading activity to comprehend the text. To differentiate this activity, students can be assigned roles to facilitate the activity. More advanced students may play main characters, as they would have more content to act out.

# data[].attributes.body
Building a child's vocabulary supports students' background knowledge, which can benefit students by improving their reading comprehension (Hanifan, 2024). The use of context clues within text can play a large role in vocabulary building. Fill-in passages are a good way for students to practice the use of their deduction skills while learning new vocabulary words with their peers.

In this activity, the teacher can read a story out loud to the class. Following the reading, students are provided with a list of vocabulary words from the story along with 1-2 of those words on flashcards. On a pocket chart, the same passage would be posted with blanks for the children to fill-in. As the teacher re-reads the story, the children can try to fill-in the blanks with the cards that they were given. The vocabulary list can be used for them to assess which word would fit the best in those blank slots.

To differentiate this activity, the passage can have more or less blanks to fill. Students may also be given a visual to support their understanding of each vocabulary word. Alternatively, the difficulty level of the text itself can also be adjusted for simpler or more complex vocabulary words.

# data[].attributes.body
Hosting a guessing game to build vocabulary is an engaging way to keep young learners excited about learning. This activity calls for students to recall previously learned vocabulary words by playing a game in which they are given clues to help them determine the word that is being described.

This activity can be conducted in different ways, depending on the interests and learning styles of the class. Teacher can choose to host this game in the form of charades, where they must act out the vocabulary words. This can be useful for vocabulary words that include action words. Alternatively, this game can also be a verbal guessing game in which teacher provide verbal clues to the word that they are thinking of. For example, a clue for the word "knight" can be "a person who would wears a helmet and rides a horse." Pictionary is another version of this game, where students would draw the vocabulary words and guess which ones are presented.

This activity can be differentiated by selecting the best method of playing the game (e.g., charades, verbal clues, or Pictionary). Depending on student capabilities, some may prefer one over the other versions.

# data[].attributes.body
When it comes to expanding the vocabulary of early childhood children, it is always helpful to build off of existing knowledge. Teaching young learners antonyms, or opposite words, is a great starting point for introducing new vocabulary at home. It not only gives them to opportunity to engage their cognitive skills to compare the meanings of words, but it also helps them to make connections between what they already know and the information learned.

For this activity, parents can provide their children with flashcards full of different antonym pairs. The children would need to match up the pairs of antonyms to demonstrate understanding of the relationship between the words and their meanings. To differentiate this activity, parents can use flashcards with a visual icon to help their children see a representation of the word's definition. The cards may be prepared based on the child's level, with simpler words for those still learning basic vocabulary and more challenging words for advanced children.

# data[].attributes.body
Building vocabulary at home is a natural and important skill for young learners. This resource provides tools and strategies to help parents support their children's vocabulary development. It includes information on how to implement different strategies, as well as how to assess student understanding and progress. Parents are encouraged to browse this website for a variety of word lists, activities, and online dictionaries that fit the needs of all children, with and without exceptionalities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Vocabulary Development: Resources for Parents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Vocabulary Development: Resources for Parents. Please browse our featured articles for toddlers right through to grade school students.

# data[].attributes.body
Echo reading is a simple technique that teachers can try with their students in class. It is essentially when the teacher models how to read a text with fluency and has the student echo, or repeat, that same text with the same fluency. This activity helps students by providing them with guidance on reading with fluency. Children will be able to hear and feel the difference between reading one word at a time and reading the sentence as a whole. The echo should be followed by quick positive and corrective feedback (Five from Five, n.d.). This technique is used to help children develop both reading fluency and print knowledge.

To differentiate this activity, the teacher can try playing around with expression to encourage students to try reading it in a different way. For example, the teacher can stress different words within a sentence to change its tone ("I didn't know he took the money" vs "I didn't know he took the money"). The complexity of the text can also be adjusted to the appropriate level for the students.

# data[].attributes.headline
Classroom Activity: Change the Punctuation

# data[].attributes.subject
Classroom Activity: Change the Punctuation

# data[].attributes.body
One fun way to keep students engaged during reading instruction and fluency practice is to change up the punctuation of the sentences that are being read. Reading can be frustrating, or even boring, to children after a period of time. The teacher can use this activity to turn reading into a fun game to see how the students can read the same text with different punctuation. For example, the tone of "I saw the goat!" conveys excitement, but "I saw the goat?" changes into a question coming from a confused speaker. This activity highlights the importance of punctuation and its impact on meaning while playing around with changing the tone of the passage. Students who practice reading with different tones are also increasing their reading fluency as they repeat the same words in different tones of voice. This activity will help children to attend to punctuation marks as they are reading, therefore improving their fluency skills.

To differentiate this activity for simpler tasks, the teacher can try only changing the punctuation to question marks. Rather than having a variety of ending punctuation to change the text, the teacher can ask the students to turn the statement into a question and vice versa to help them recognize that one's tone of voice goes up at the end of the question.

# data[].attributes.body
Conducting a picture walk prior to reading a book gets children to mentally prepare their brains for reading that story. During a picture walk, the teacher talks about the book and begins showing the students the cover illustration. The children are then asked to make predictions about the story based on the picture. Then, the teacher can flip through the book and stop to have the student look at the pictures, discussing what they see. This activity activates children's prior knowledge and inference skills by building their curiosity on the contents of the story. It also reinforces the utilization of picture clues as students are reading to support their reading comprehension.

To differentiate the picture walk activity, teachers can direct student attention to simple illustrations or complex components of those illustrations. The questions that the teacher asks can also be more direct for beginner readers or encourage critical thinking for advanced readers.

# data[].attributes.body
Having children retell stories that they have read is a simple, yet effective, way to determine their understanding of the read material. By retelling the story, students are encouraged to actively engage with the text to build a deeper understanding of the narrative that they are able to repeat later on.

To differentiate this activity, parents can break down the retelling of the story by asking about the main ideas. They can also use guiding questions to draw out the details from the story that the children may have left out. It is important to acknowledge that there is a difference between retelling and summarizing. Retelling is the recount of the story in the same sequence, including details from the text. Summarizing is presenting a short version of the story that emphasizes sharing main ideas in your own words. As the child improves on their retelling of the story, they can eventually begin to summarize stories using higher-level thinking to present a gist of the story.

# data[].attributes.headline
Practice at Home: Audio-Assisted Reading

# data[].attributes.subject
Practice at Home: Audio-Assisted Reading

# data[].attributes.body
Audio-assisted reading is when students read a book while following along with a fluent reader on an audio recording (Reading Rockets, 2024a). By utilizing an audiobook recording, the student is able to follow along with the fluent reading of the chosen book. The student should first read the book while following with the audio recording. For the second reading of the book, the student should practice reading with the recording. Eventually, the student will be able to read the book independently, matching the fluency of the audio recording. This activity can be adjusted by providing simpler or more complex books depending on the reader's level of reading proficiency.

# data[].attributes.body
This website offers a variety of strategies for parents to practice reading at home with their children and improve reading comprehension. It explains basic reading skills and how they interact to create a proficient reader. It also gives tips on what to do if your child continues to struggle with reading comprehension. If parents are looking for readers to practice with, this website also provides links to reading material for purchase to support the child's reading journey, no matter their age or reading level.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1. Have them read aloud. This encourages them to go slower, which gives them more time to process what they read and in turn improves reading comprehension. Plus, they're not only seeing the words - they're hearing them, too! You can also take turns reading aloud.

2. Provide books at the right level. Make sure your school-aged reader gets lots of practice reading books that aren't too hard. They should recognize at least 90 percent of the words without any help. Stopping any more often than that to figure out a word makes it tough for kids to focus on the overall meaning of the story.

If your child needs help transitioning from picture books to chapter books, try Scholastic's Branches books, which are designed to bridge that gap for growing readers.

3. Reread to build fluency. To gain meaning from text and encourage reading comprehension, your child needs to read quickly and smoothly - a skill known as fluency. By the beginning of 3rd grade, for example, your child should be able to read 90 words a minute.

Rereading familiar, simple books gives your child practice at decoding words quickly, so they'll become more fluent in their reading comprehension. (For simple books your child will love to reread, check out these expert-approved beginner books.)

4. Talk to the teacher. If your child is struggling with reading comprehension, they may need more help with building their vocabulary or practicing phonics skills. (This Pokémon Phonics Boxed Set and this Pete the Cat Phonics Box Set are fun ways to help your child build necessary phonics skills.) A teacher can weigh in on the best next steps to take.

5. Supplement their class reading. If your child's class is studying a particular theme, look for easy-to-read books or magazines on the topic. Some prior knowledge will help them make their way through tougher classroom texts and promote reading comprehension.

6. Talk about what they're reading. This "verbal processing" helps them remember and think through the themes of the book. Ask questions before, during, and after a session to encourage reading comprehension. ( Read about all the questions you should ask during story time here!) For example:

Before: "What are you interested in about this book? What doesn't interest you?"

During: "What's going on in the book? Is it turning out the way you thought it would? What do you think will happen next?"

After: "Can you summarize the book? What did you like about it? What other books does it remind you of?"

Shop resources to improve your child's reading comprehension below! You can find all books and activities at The Scholastic Store.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Try these tips to help your child develop stronger reading comprehension skills.

# data[].attributes.body
This website provides a general overview of fluency training that parents can implement at home with their little readers. It includes information on reading routines, book selection, and reading strategies to provide parents with a toolkit of activities to help their child increase their reading fluency. This resource emphasizes the use of consistent repetition, drilling, and practice. The strategies provide different approaches to training fluency that parents can choose from that will work best for their individual children.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Fluency is defined as "the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding" (Meyer and Felton, 1999, p. 284). It provides "a bridge between word recognition and comprehension" (National Institute for Literacy, 2001, p. 22). Fluency combines rate, accuracy, and prosody (i.e., reading with expression).
When a child incorporates prosody, his oral reading sounds much like speech with appropriate phrasing, pause structures, stress, rise and fall patterns, and general expressiveness.

A fluent reader does not need to give his attention on decoding the words. Instead, he can concentrate on what the text means and develop his comprehension skills (e.g., making connections, asking questions, understanding nuances and references in text, etc.)

Fluency training is something all parents can do for their child. It requires little time, minimal expertise, and it invariably works. You can read single words, poetry, plays, comic books, or fiction - anything of interest to your child.

Fluency develops gradually over time and through substantial practice. A good way to help motivate your child is to use material that is of interest to him.

There are many situations in which reading aloud can occur everyday (e.g., singing a sound, telling a joke, giving a speech).

Here are some helpful tips to target, as well as maximize, reading fluency to practice at home:
Routine

Establish a daily family reading routine. 10-20 minutes is all you need!
Books

Select books that are at the child's reading level so he feels comfortable reading independently.

Vary the material. Read books, poems, magazines, comic books, and newspapers.

Utilize auditory books on CDs to foster continued vocabulary development and content knowledge. Listening to books while reading the text will help your child maintain his language skills commensurate with his peers. By having the child read along with the CD silently or aloud also targets reading fluency. (Check out LearnOutLoud.com and Librivox.)

Encourage your child to choose the material.
Strategies

Model
Read aloud to your child to provide a good example of fluent reading. Consider reading material that is just beyond grade level. Your child will not only enjoy listening to a good model, but it will also foster language development and reading comprehension. Be sure to make it fun by using an expressive voice and intonation.

Partner Reading
You and your child take turns reading. Be sure to select reading material that is at your child's success level. You are the model for both fluency and personal expression.

Choral Reading

You and your child read together at the same time. You should be slightly ahead (i.e., a couple of milliseconds) of your child. Even though it appears that the reading is happening simultaneously, you are actually leading and your child is following.

Choral reading allows your child to build up his sight words as he associates the correct pronunciation with each written word. The pace should be slow, yet fluent, for the initial reading.

Repetition

Once you have complied reading material, encourage your child to reread his favorites. Try to make it fun! This could include reading in a different location (e.g., on a swing or in the bathtub) or using different voices.

Repeated readings not only improve fluency, but comprehension and using intonation as well.

Repeated oral reading significantly improves word recognition and fluency (i.e., speed and accuracy). Remember to practice at a level that your child is already able to decode easily. Your child should feel confident and comfortable with the text selected.

You can also review sight words with your child to increase automaticity. (Check out Dolch Word.) You could do 2-3 minute drills with your child a few times a week.

Effort
Keep your child motivated by encouraging and praising her for her strengths and her interest in reading. This will build confidence and maintain interest.

You now have been given a "tool kit" of activities and strategies to use help your child with fluency (i.e., accuracy + rate).

Best results to improve fluency are through consistent repetition, drill, and practice. It is not difficult to target fluency everyday for short periods of time (i.e., minutes).

Repeated oral reading significantly improves word recognition and fluency, which will increase self-confidence in your child. Success starts here!

References
Carlisle, J.F. and Rice, M.S. (2002). Improving Reading Comprehension: Research-Based Principles and Practices. Baltimore, MD: New York Press, Inc.

Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA). (2001). Put Reading First: The Research Building Blocks for Teaching Children to Read. Jessup, MD. National Institute for Literacy at ED Pubs.

Rasinski, T. (2003). The Fluent Reader. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fluency is defined as "the ability to read connected text rapidly, smoothly, effortlessly, and automatically with little conscious attention to the mechanics of reading, such as decoding" (Meyer and Felton, 1999, p. 284). It provides "a bridge between word recognition and comprehension" (National Institute for Literacy, 2001, p. 22).