The following are the characteristics of reading fluency:

Reading fluency actually has four parts: accuracy, speed, expression and comprehension. Each part is important, but no single part is enough on its own. A fluent reader is able to coordinate all four aspects of fluency. Accuracy: Reading words correctly is a key to developing fluency.

• Word Identification Accuracy.
• Pacing.
• Prosody.

The building blocks of reading, as defined by the National Reading Panel, include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Essential Components of Reading

• Overview.
• Phonemic Awareness.
• Phonics.
• Fluency.
• Vocabulary.
• Comprehension.
• Spelling.

While phonemic awareness and phonics are not the same thing, they do enjoy a reciprocal relationship. We do not need to wait for phonemic awareness to be fully developed before beginning phonics instruction. Instead, educators should help students understand the connection between phonemic awareness and phonics.

Phonics Instruction: Systematic Instruction By far, the best way to teach phonics is systematically. This means moving children through a planned sequence of skills rather than teaching particular aspects of phonics as they are encountered in texts.

In analytic phonics, students are first taught whole word units followed by systematic instruction linking the specific letters in the word with their respective sounds. Teaching students explicitly to convert letters into sounds (phonemes) and then blend the sounds to form recognizable words.

I start with teaching the short vowel word families and start with the short ‘a’ word families. The words within those word families often follow a CVC or CVCC pattern. They are simple words that children often know and understand.

Letter-Sounds Correspondence Teach the sounds of letters that can be used to build many words (e.g., m, s, a, t). Introduce lower case letters first unless upper case letters are similar in configuration (e.g., Similar: S, s, U, u, W, w; Dissimilar: R, r, T, t, F, f).

Teach children the names of letters first. The exceptions are h, q, w, y, g, and the short vowels. Your learner will also experience more success this way. Once they have mastered the letter names, it will be easier to learn the sounds.

8 Things to Teach After the Alphabet

• Uppercase and Lowercase Letters. Does your child know there are uppercase AND lowercase letters?
• Vowels. A good thing to work on is distinguishing the short and long sounds of each vowel.
• Rhyming Words. Rhyming is a very important skill for reading.
• Syllables.
• Phonemes.
• Making Words.
• Sight Words.
• Concepts of Print.

Most children learn to read by 6 or 7 years of age. Some children learn at 4 or 5 years of age. Even if a child has a head start, she may not stay ahead once school starts.

10 Great Reading Apps for Kids Going Into Kindergarten

• Learn With Homer.
• Hooked On Phonics App.
• Wallykazam! Letter and Word Magic.
• Montessori Letter Sounds.
• Bob Books Reading Magic #1.
• Bob Books Reading Magic #2.
• Dora ABCs Vol. 1 Letters and Letter Sounds (great for beginners)
• Big Bird’s Words.