Do You Need Help With Reading Fluency? What Reading Interventions are Best?

Learning anything new takes time.  Lots of little baby steps add up.  If a reader LOVES reading, you’ll see these steps move faster and faster, gaining momentum through the years.  However, sometimes readers might get stuck.  How do you recognize when this happens?  How should you intervene?  Is there a reading intervention to try?

Rewind and go back to basic reading strategies at home.

Here’s how to start…No need to worry just yet.  Rewind and go back to the basics.

Start with these 3 tips- at any age.  Stick with these tips for a few weeks consistently.  

1. Pick a Prime Time: Find that sweet spot in the day when your reader is all ears and eyes for a good story. It could be after breakfast when they're fresh and full of energy, or maybe right before bed, turning reading into a shared reading experience. The trick is to make it a regular rendezvous with their favorite tales (and people).
2. Craft a Cozy Corner: There’s a place in our house, under the stairs.  It’s our favorite spot because we put in a plush carpet, with lots of pillows to sit on, hanging lights, stuffed animals, and books everywhere.  We really made it a cozy home around COVID, out of necessity.  You can do this too…Whip up a reading nook that screams comfort and focus. A snug spot with a comfy chair or a pile of cushions, away from the hustle and bustle, can work wonders. Make sure it's well-lit and inviting, a place where they can't wait to curl up with a book.
3. Start Small, Aim for Consistency: Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a reading habit! Kick things off with short, sweet reading sessions—maybe just 10 minutes to start. The goal is to make it a daily date with their book, not a reading marathon. As they get more into it, you can gently nudge the reading time up a notch.

By sticking to these three simple steps—setting a regular reading time, creating a special reading spot, and beginning with bite-sized reading moments—your reader will begin to connect with stories and reading. Remember, it's all about making reading a fun and regular part of their day. Before you know it, they'll be lost in the pages, exploring new worlds and adventures with every turn!

Buuut….what if they don’t pick up reading? What if you’ve been trying, and trying, and they are still struggling to read?  Something's off… Learn to read programs at school really aren’t helping either…

Here are some questions you can begin to ask:

Helpful questions to start with: 

~Does your child struggle with sounding out basic letter sounds? 

~ Are they unsure of what sound some letters make when combined?  

~ Are Words taking a long time to sound out, that by the time they sound it out, all meaning has been lost?

~Do they sound like a robot when they are reading?

~Do they read great, but then, have no idea what they read?

~Do they have to sound out every little word?

~Does reading together turn into a struggle, not enjoyable?

~Does your reader avoid reading at all costs?  If given the choice, they choose going to the dentist or getting shot over reading.

If any one of these seem true about your reader,  and you don’t see improvement over time, it might indicate a challenge with their foundational phonics skills, including letter recognition, letter-sound association, and blending phonemes.   

Try these strategies: 

1. Review the SOUNDS of the alphabet.  You can use an app, or just play easy games in the car or in the kitchen while you are making dinner.  For example, “the letter T makes what sound?”  “what starts with that sound?”  
2. Find fun, ACTIVE ways to learn blends of letters, like /gl/ or /gr/.  “I see something that starts with the /gr/sound”  or “I see something that starts with /g/ /l/. - Some parents have used ABCMouse- a great way to do a quick review.
3. Make flash cards: Introduce a few sight words each week. Words that are common in reading.  Keep them available and go through common sight words every day.  As words get easier, remove them from the pile.
4. Continue reading to your reader out loud. Choose short books with short stories or poems.  
5. Here’s a video I made with a strategic strategy called “tapping”...Readers tap out each sound.  
6. Encouragement and “breathe”:  There are many ways to enjoy reading, such as audio, and reading with a friend or loved one.  However, as they grow older, reading is more than just fun.  It is how they access math, science, and other subjects in life and at school.  Encouraging them and finding ways to “read to them or with them” will help them succeed in other subjects.  It is OKAY to read to them, to help them complete assignments in other subjects.  As they grow older and continue to struggle with reading, their anxiety heightens.  This is a great time to use mindfulness to ease the stress around the struggle.

There are tons of reading apps and reading online programs.  However, before you jump into one of those, go back to the basics and notice what’s happening.  Ask a few questions around what exactly you are seeing.  Try a reading strategy suggested, or ask a reading teacher for advice.  Always remember that readers who have a positive relationship with reading, will read.