Emergent Reading, Engagement, Print Work, and Fluency are some of the most important reading goals we work on with our students. We want them to become skillful readers, but also to discover a lifetime love of reading. Here are three strategies to support these key reading goals:

Although most emergent readers have some experience rereading well-loved, favorite books, either at home or in school, it is less common for them to independently pick out and stick with a book that is unknown or unfamiliar. But providing young children with lots of opportunities and encouragement to read unfamiliar books, in addition to the ones they know so well and love so much, helps them to become adventurous, confident readers who are highly engaged meaning-makers.

Comprehension is not about answering those literal questions at the end of a story, chapter, or textbook section. Comprehension is not about spitting out facts and filling in blanks. Comprehension is about understanding. And reading is not merely about word calling. Reading is about thinking. Teaching kids to think about information as they read is key to comprehension.

There can be many reasons why students struggle with fluency, and they’re not always the result of poor word recognition or a lack of automaticity.  Sometimes children have tracking problems with their eyes or are easily distracted. When the issue is, however, that students simply have not developed the fluency they need, try the following suggestions.