Reading Strategies

“What Makes a Successful Reader”

What Makes a Successful Reader 2020.pdf

Print my guide to simple strategies for you and your child to work on together.  I’ve divided the steps into four components of successful reading: accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary.  It may take a few times going through the steps, but you’ll get really comfortable with them soon.


“Reading Strategies”

Reading Strategies Guide 2020.pdf

Print this page for a quick guide to the basic strategies your child has learned to use to figure out how to read more difficult words.  Readers generally work through the strategies starting with the top, Does it make sense?, and ending up with Go Back if they really have difficulty.


“Successful Steps for Fluency”

Successful Steps for Fluency 2020.pdf

Print my fluency guide to use at home.  This is the old-school version of the computer program your child may have used at school.  Just pick any passage from a book your child can read without much help.  It can be lots of fun and very rewarding for your child to count how many more words she/he reads after practice than during the cold read.


“How Did I Read?”

How Did I Read 2020.pdf

Print my fluency self-scoring guide so your child can evaluate how well he/she read a passage to you.  This guide can be used with my “Successful Steps for Fluency” or after reading any passage or book.  “How Did I Read?” makes it clear that fluency is NOT about reading fast.  It’s about reading “smoothly,” “with expression,” and “with accuracy.”  Make sure your child marks one box in each of the three target sections.