Reading time should be engaging and joyful, not stressful or forced. For growing readers, the way reading feels matters just as much as the foundational skills being practiced. When learners feel supported rather than evaluated, they are more willing to keep trying and less afraid to make mistakes. Encouraging learners to pause, reread, self-correct, ask questions, and share their ideas help them build resilience and other key skills while becoming stronger, more joyful readers.
Here are some effective approaches you can use to create that kind of reading experience:
Read Aloud to Your Learner
Model fluent, expressive reading. Pause to ask questions, explain new words, and talk about what’s happening in the story. Invite your learner to ask questions, notice details in the illustrations, and share thoughts or feelings about the characters.
Read With Your Learner
Take turns reading sections of the story. This keeps your learner engaged while still feeling supported.
Echo Reading
Read a line first, then have your learner repeat it.
Tip #1: Have fun reading aloud! Use different voices, fun sound effects, or act out parts of the story to make reading exciting and memorable.
Tip #2: Guide your learner to look closely at both the illustrations and the words.
Tip #3: Help your learner notice rhyming words, spelling patterns, or any new vocabulary. Talk together about what the words mean and how they fit into the story.
Choral Reading
Read the text together in unison. Choral reading works especially well in small groups or classroom settings.
Paired Reading
In paired reading, one learner reads aloud while another listens and supports. Then they switch roles.
Independent Reading
Based on your learner’s reading goals, set aside dedicated time for independent reading. Stay nearby to offer support when needed. This balance is key to strengthening comprehension, building reading stamina, and developing confidence. Celebrate both small and big wins.
Repeated Reading
Repeated reading is a research-based strategy for building fluency. With each rereading, word recognition becomes more automatic. As decoding requires less effort, learners can focus on comprehension, expression, and enjoying the story.
“Repeated reading involves having a student read the same passage multiple times with the goal of increasing fluency. Initially, especially for developing or struggling readers, the reading may be slow and disfluent. Through this repeated practice, students develop automaticity in word recognition on that text” (Rasinski et al., 2017, 2020; Rasinski & Nageldinger, 2016).
“When the need for attention in word recognition is minimized, readers are able to employ a maximum amount of attention to the more important task in reading—comprehension” (Rasinski & Nageldinger, 2016).
The way learners experience reading today influences how they will feel about reading in the future. Creating a joyful, supportive reading environment builds confidence, resilience, and a lifelong love of reading.
Try one of our decodable and read-aloud comics for beginning readers to put these strategies into practice.
We’d love to hear from you! Share in the comments which of these approaches you’ve tried, or which ones you’re excited to try next.
References:
Fisher, D., Frey, N., Quaglia, R. J., Smith, D., & Lande, L. L. (2017). Engagement by design: Creating learning environments where students thrive. Corwin.
Rasinski, T. V., Yates, R., Foerg, K., Greene, K., Paige, D., Young, C., & Rupley, W. (2020). Impact of Classroom-Based Fluency Instruction on Grade One Students in an Urban Elementary School. Education Sciences, 10(9), 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10090227
Rasinski, T., Paige, D., Rains, C., Stewart, F., Julovich, B., Prenkert, D., … Nichols, W. D. (2017). Effects of Intensive Fluency Instruction on the Reading Proficiency of Third-Grade Struggling Readers. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 33(6), 519–532. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2016.1250144
Rasinski, T. V., & Nageldinger, J. K. (2016). The fluency factor: authentic assessment and instruction for reading success in the common core classroom. Teachers College Press, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Rasinski, T. V. (2012). Why Reading Fluency Should Be Hot. The Reading Teacher, 65(8), 516–522. https://doi.org/10.1002/TRTR.01077
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