Teaching Reading Fluency in Structured Literacy
Why Fluency Matters
Fluency is the bridge between decoding and comprehension. A child may be able to sound out words, but if reading is slow and time consuming, there’s little energy left to think about meaning. Fluent reading allows the brain to shift attention from figuring out words to making sense of them.
National reports show that about one-third of fourth graders in the U.S. still struggle with fluency, even when reading simple texts. This occurs because the shift from "learning to read" to "reading to learn" requires more complex skills. Without fluency, many students fall further behind.
A private reading tutor who specializes in Structured Literacy can give students the one-on-one support they need to close this fluency gap and build confidence.
What is Fluency?
Fluency is more than speed. It includes the below components:
Accuracy – reading the words correctly.
Automaticity – recognizing words quickly without effort.
Prosody – reading with expression, phrasing, and intonation that matches meaning.
When these three components work together, the reader can focus on comprehension instead of reading mechanics.
Fluency and Struggling Readers
For students with dyslexia or other reading challenges:
Accuracy comes slowly—they may need 40+ exposures to a word compared to 4–14 for peers
Automaticity is harder to achieve—they can improve in decoding but still remain slow
Late intervention often raises accuracy but not fluency
With intensive, explicit, and early intervention, students can catch up and remain on track. Working with a private reading tutor trained in Structured Literacy ensures that instruction is highly individualized and targeted to these needs.
Why Is Fluency Such a Big Deal?
Without fluency, students can’t focus on meaning—they’re stuck decoding.
It’s one of the “Big 5” components of reading identified by the National Reading Panel (2000):
Phonemic awareness
Phonics/decoding
Fluency
Vocabulary
Comprehension
Fluency + Reading Disabilities
Students with dyslexia or related learning disabilities often struggle with:
Accuracy (decoding, applying phonics consistently).
Automaticity (reading smoothly and quickly).
They usually need many more repetitions (40+ vs. 4–14 for typical peers) to gain word recognition. A private reading tutor can provide the structured, repeated practice that helps build these essential skills.
Best Practices for Teaching Fluency
Start Small and Build Up
Letter and sound fluency – rapid recognition of letters and sounds.
Word reading – practice with high-frequency words and decodable patterns.
Phrase reading – chunking words into natural groups (“on the mat,” “under the tree”).
Connected text – sentences, paragraphs, and full passages.
Use Evidence-Based Methods
Students re-read the same passage several times to build speed and confidence.
Teacher and students read together, reducing pressure while modeling prosody.
Students practice and perform scripts, naturally boosting expression.
Teacher and student read aloud simultaneously, with the teacher slightly ahead as a model.
Support Active Meaning-Making
An Orton-Gillingham reading tutor will encourage students to:
Notice when text doesn’t make sense
Reread connected text or adjust their pace
Engage with the text (answer comprehension questions, learn new vocabulary, etc.)
This helps prevent the trap of reading fluently but without comprehension.
Fluency in Structured Literacy
Structured Literacy programs—like Slingerland (based on Orton-Gillingham), and similar approaches—emphasize explicit, systematic teaching of phonology, orthography, and morphology. Fluency fits naturally into this model:
Accuracy is built through direct phonics instruction.
Automaticity is supported by high-repetition practice with words and patterns.
Prosody and comprehension are fostered by guided oral reading and meaning-focused coaching.
For families seeking individualized support, a private reading tutor using Structured Literacy can make this approach accessible outside the classroom.
Reading Fluency Instruction
The goal of fluency instruction is to build automaticity in reading, allowing students to focus their full attention on comprehension. While struggling readers may make progress in decoding accuracy and understanding, fluency often lags behind, especially for those with moderate to severe reading difficulties.
For children with the most profound dyslexia, interventions are generally more effective at improving word-reading accuracy than reading speed. Fluency, however, remains the most challenging area to remediate.
Building Fluency: Accuracy Comes First
Fluency instruction should always begin with accuracy. Early readers need strong word recognition and decoding skills before working on speed. Once accuracy is in place, the next step is helping children read sentences in a natural, “talk-like” rhythm. For younger students, fluency practice can start with short, familiar phrases. For older children, teachers or tutors would check both accuracy and reading rate before deciding where to focus instruction.
When working on rate, students would practice with texts they can already read with 95–98% accuracy, ensuring fluency grows without sacrificing comprehension.
Key Takeaway
Fluency is not just a reading skill; it’s the gateway to comprehension, confidence, and motivation.
When fluency instruction is integrated into Structured Literacy, students are far more likely to cross the bridge from “learning to read” into “reading to learn.”
If your child is struggling, working with a private reading tutor trained in these methods can provide the consistency, structure, and individualized support needed to unlock progress.
