The Importance of Reading Fluency for Children

When we hear the word “fluent” or “fluency,” we tend to relate it to language or learning a language. At our bilingual preschool in Virginia, there is also such a thing as reading fluency, a term that isn’t often used but is quite important to a child’s education.

Defining Reading Fluency
Reading fluency is defined as the ability of a person to read a text easily, quickly, and expressively with little to no difficulty in comprehending the meaning and context of a certain composition. There are two types of reading fluency, and those are Oral and Silent Reading Fluency.

• Oral Reading Fluency
  As the phrase suggests, oral reading fluency refers to how fluently a child can read aloud. It has little to do with the child’s ability to understand what he’s reading and more to do with how they decode the text.
• Silent Reading Fluency
  Silent reading fluency is a bit more complicated than oral reading fluency. Most children who are thought to be “fluent readers” turn out to be otherwise when it comes to silent reading. In other words, they may be reading the text mechanically without trouble but they aren’t gaining comprehension of what they are reading.

This is often seen in children who read books with ease but are unable to tell you what the story was about or answer questions about it.

At Early Steps Bilingual Preschool, we understand the importance of both oral and silent reading fluency. By providing high-quality bilingual education in Virginia, we help children enhance their communication and reading skills through research-based tactics and techniques.

Learn more about our preschool in Washington, DC by calling our office today!