When we speak, fluency is the quality of saying words, phrases and sentences smoothly. Our voices go up at the end of a question and down when our statements end with a period. We begin with the first word of our sentence and glide through so our listener can fully engage in what we are saying rather than how we are saying it. Reading fluency is very much like fluency in speaking. Fluency is the ability to read text accurately and quickly. Fluent readers can recognize words automatically and understand their meaning at the same time. To help develop fluency, children should be encouraged to read aloud to you at home – and even re-read the same story several times. As a parent, you would be helping your child immensely if you read to him or her and have your child follow along as you read.

FAQ: When is the best time to read with my child?

In the real world of after school activities, sports, clubs and playdates, finding a relaxing, quiet time to read to your child can be tough. Perhaps the nicest time for everyone is each night for 10-15 minutes before bed. Think about it. Your child has had a long day (and so have you!). School is over, after school activities are done for the day,  and everyone has eaten dinner. Snuggle in your child’s bed for a close time – just the two of you. Choose a short, easy to read story. It’s a great time to end the day on a quieter, relaxed note.

FAQ: My child says he ‘hates’ to read. How can I turn around his attitude?

Children who say they ‘hate’ to read are typically kids who struggle with reading. Many of us take reading for granted because it is easy.  For a child who’s having difficulty learning to read, there can be three major ‘pitfall’ areas:

1) Decoding (knowing what letters make what sounds, then how the sounds combine to make words) 

2) Comprehension (understanding what all the words mean) 

3) Fluency (how smoothly the child can read – both aloud and to himself). So for the child who has declared that he ‘hates’ to read, have him start  off simply by listening to you read. Choose a book in which you’re sure he can read some of the words. Or name the pictures. Or tell you the color of something in one of the pictures. Let your child select a favorite book from early childhood, when reading was fun.

The key is to read to and with your child consistently. Every night for  10-15 minutes can usually be worked into the schedule. The more expression you use in your voice, the more your child will come to understand that being able to read fluently can take him or her to wonderful real or imagined places!

What is phonemic awareness? You hear the term used frequently during parent-teacher conferences when discussing your child’s progress in Pre-K, Kindergarten and First Grade.  You are told how important it is for the development of strong reading skills. But what IS phonemic awareness? Phonemic awareness refers to the child’s ability to hear, identify and manipulate, or ‘move around’,’ the sounds of spoken language.

Phonemic awareness refers to to the child’s understanding that words are made up of sequences or strings of phonemes (sounds). A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that can make a difference in the meaning of words. Students with developed phonemic awareness skills can judge whether two words rhyme, for example, and are able to  isolate and substitute the beginning, middle and end sounds of a word.  For example, if you ask a child to name a word that rhymes with ‘cat,’ he/she will be able to isolate the ‘k’ sound with the ‘at’ ending, and substitute another sound such as ‘b’. This makes the rhyming word ‘bat.’ Children with underdeveloped phonemic awareness skills cannot figure out that to change ‘cat’ into a rhyming word they need to take off the ‘k’ sound and put in another while maintaining the ‘at’ ending for the rhyme.

Since phonemic awareness skills are part of the foundation  for reading, children who are underdeveloped in this area are not ready to learn skills that build on phonemic awareness  – skills such as reading, spelling and writing. So it’s very important to make sure children are off to a strong start with their phonemic awareness skills.

FAQ: How can I help my child with his phonemic awareness skills?

Response: It’s easier than you may think! Playing rhyming games in the car, for instance, is an effective way to strengthen phonemic awareness skills. Play a ’round robin’ game with everyone in the car..ask “What rhymes with ‘bat?’ and have the kids answer in a turn-taking fashion. In addition to working on phonemic awareness skills, you’re also working on: 1) turn taking  2) improving listening skills (no rhyming words can be repeated so everyone has to listen to each other’s responses)  3) vocabulary  AND it makes the trip in the car go by more quickly.

FAQ: My child can say the alphabet really fast but cannot seem to get what letters go with what sounds. Is this phonemic awareness?

Response: Saying the alphabet is using something we call ‘rote memory.’ It means that the child has been able to memorize 26 letter names that make up our alphabet. This may be useful for learning to alphabetize words, looking up words in the dictionary (when a computer isn’t available!), and singing the alphabet song in its entirety during circle time. It does not mean that the child has an understanding of the the sounds that letters make, identify words that have the same patterns of sounds (as in rhyming words), or ‘move the sounds around’ to make new words. So, while knowing all the letters in the alphabet is certainly a good skill, be careful not to assume that knowing the alphabet letter names automatically goes with the child’s ability to hear, identify and manipulate the sounds of letters.

If this sounds like your child, in Pre-K, Kindergarten or even in the later grades, call CTA for more information on programs that can help your child develop his/her phonemic awareness skills to begin moving forward for success in reading, spelling and writing!