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When we think of reading fluency, our minds might go to passages of text and one-minute timings. However, fluency can also be practiced at the word level, which is particularly helpful in kindergarten. In this post, I’m sharing a fun activity that can help your students improve their word reading fluency and become more confident readers.
As young students learn the sounds that are associated with written letters, it takes time for them to make those connections fluently. When students see an unfamiliar word, they will apply their knowledge to each individual letter to help them decode the letter. After figuring out what the word says, students will then read it more fluently by saying the word in more natural language.
When students practice word reading fluency, they are able to apply their phonics knowledge to individual words one after another. They are able to recognize more phonics patterns so that they can begin to read like they speak. Word reading fluency practice gives students the chance to grow in confidence as they read words with more automaticity.
One of the best ways to help students improve their word reading fluency is to have them read more words! However, it can become tedious for students to read the same words with the same phonics patterns over and over. This is why it’s so helpful to have a variety of phonics activities in your toolbox!
This activity is low-prep and simple to complete, but students love it! It’s a fun and engaging way to add more word reading repetition to your daily routine.
The first step in this activity is to read the individual word on each line. There are dots under each letter to encourage students to apply their phonics skills to decoding each word.
They can practice saying each individual sound in the word and then blending them together. This helps to reinforce to students what it sounds like and feels like to read words smoothly and fluently.
Once students have identified the word, they can get some fine motor practice as they write the word on the line provided.
This is great letter formation practice that also provides repetition in identifying the word. As students write out each letter, they are becoming more familiar with what that word looks like.
The next part of this activity is always the students’ favorite! They will color, cut, and glue a picture to the page that matches the word they just read and wrote.
After getting to this point for all of the words on the page, students will then cut on the lines to create flaps that fold over each picture.
The first three steps of this activity can actually be considered prep work for the word reading fluency activity. (Even though students have been doing a lot of word reading practice already!)
Once the page is complete, students have a self-correcting way to practice reading words with more fluency. As they practice reading each word, they will lift the flap to see if they read the word correctly. Students will continue to read the words and lift the flaps until it’s time to move on to the next activity.
For another fun way to add repetition to this activity, students can number each flap from one to five. Then students can roll a die to decide which word to read. After reading the word, they can lift that numbered flap to see if they read it correctly. Since there are only five flaps, students can pick the word of their choice if they roll a six.
If you have students who need an extra challenge, they can practice writing simple sentences on the back of the paper using the words from the activity.
The best part about this activity is that it’s so flexible! In addition to supplementing your whole group instruction and supporting students who need extra practice, there are other ways that you can incorporate some word reading fluency into your daily routine.
Since the format of these activities is the same for each phonics pattern, students will know exactly what to do when they see this paper. This makes is a great option for morning work. After putting away their backpacks, students can sit down and get right to work!
This activity is also a great option for literacy centers. Once students have finished prepping the worksheet, they can practice the words until it’s time to rotate to the next learning station. They are able to work independently with minimal assistance from you!
You can have a stack of these activities handy for students who finish their work early! Just print off phonics skills that you’re currently working on in class for some fun and relevant skill practice. These activities are a great way to keep students engaged until the next activity.
Since these activities are straightforward, they are great for extra practice at home! After students return the completed sheets, they can store them in a folder so they can review them during the school day.
If you’d like to try this activity in your classroom, save some time and money by grabbing the Read It, Write It, See It Bundle! It includes word reading practice activities for CVC words, blends and digraphs, CVCe words, r-controlled vowels, vowel teams, and diphthongs.
These print-and-go activities are perfect to use for additional phonics and fluency practice in your classroom! Check out the A Spoonful of Learning shop or my TPT store to take a closer look at everything included in this bundle of word reading fluency activities.
Be sure to save this post if you’d like to come back to it later! Just add the pin below to your favorite teaching board on Pinterest. You’ll be able to quickly find this activity idea when you’re looking for ways to help your students with word reading fluency.
These alphabet books will have students dive deep into learning about each letter of the alphabet while eager to see what activity they get to complete next!
