Teaching Reading Fluency to Older Students

Learning how to read is a distant memory for most people. Reading is a skill that we use constantly, yet many people do not remember learning sounds and decoding tricks. Sometimes it seems like we were just born able to read! That is because little kiddos are taught the majority of decoding skills in early elementary school. The brain is conditioned to learn how to read at a very young age which we call the zone of proximal development. Once students mature past this age without foundational reading skills, it is exceedingly more difficult to learn how to read. Nonetheless, struggling readers in fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade can still blossom from fluency and phonics instruction. Unfortunately, many educators in intermediate and middle school are not equipped to teach students who are reading well-below grade-level. Here are my decoding tips for middle schoolers as a 5th-8th grade ELA Learning Support Teacher:

1. Start with data collection. Using a quick phonics screener will give you an accurate picture of where a student is struggling. Rather than starting at "A" and working through unnecessary skills, target the skills that are actually needed. 

2. Follow a program. There are seemingly a million phonics skills that need to be mastered. Trying to cover needed skills on a whim will be impossible. Follow a strategic phonics program that covers skills in a sequential method. You can use an assortment of resources to cover each skill, but stick to a set series of skills. 

3. Schedule fluency time into instructional activities. I know that ELA teachers are stretched thin in intermediate school. It is challenging enough to teach comprehension, grammar, writing, and spelling. Adding fluency into the mix seems impossible. Incorporate phonics as a regular component of your class. Assign phonics packets as stations, bell ringer activities, independent time, and homework. If you say that you will do it when you have time, you never will. 

4. Avoid activities that are specifically designed for little kids. There are many great resources that teach fluency and phonics. However, many of them are tailored to younger children. My middle schoolers become automatically disheartened if they are handed an activity with teddy bears and size fifty font. I have designed intermediate phonics activities to accompany skills.

5. Provide time for students to read aloud and read silently. This takes extra encouragement in middle school! Sometimes I plan for students to have one-on-one time with me so that they can practice reading aloud. Find books that they enjoy reading and are eager to continue. I created a list of books that are beloved by middle school students so that they can read something on their level that also peaks their interest.