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By Anne Hauth March 18, 2025
Summer calendars tend to get very busy, despite many parents' best attempts to give their children plenty of unstructured free time. Quiet time to read might not earn a spot on the family calendar, but it should be highly prioritized nonetheless. Here are some tips to entice your kids to make reading part of their daily summer routine.

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By Anne Hauth March 18, 2025
Boost your child's reading scores fast with One Minute Reader! Proven methods build fluency, vocabulary & confidence—just $8/month. Try it free today!
A mother comforting her son.
By Madeline Waters March 17, 2025
Boost your middle schooler's reading skills with age-appropriate content, fluency practice, and more. Discover effective strategies and the One Minute Reader program for reading success!
By Madeline Waters March 10, 2025
"Fluency is not an instructional target. It is the result of decoding instruction that leads to automatic word recognition." "If a child can decode accurately and automatically, they do not need fluency practice." "Fluency is an outcome of good decoding not a process to go through." "Fluency is a byproduct of solid word recognition skills and not its own distinct subskill." Have you ever heard someone say that reading fluency is just a natural byproduct of learning phonics? This idea has been a point of conversation lately in many literacy spaces, and surprisingly, it's not sparking much debate. Is reading fluency just a natural byproduct of decoding development? If only it were that simple! Fluency is one of the five essential components of reading because it’s a distinct part of skilled reading. Of course, the five components don’t exist in separate vacuums; they overlap and influence each other. Naturally, this can cause some confusion. Let’s discuss the relationship between phonics , fluency , and comprehension . There’s no doubt that automatic word recognition is a key reason why text fluency is so highly correlated with comprehension. When children can automatically read words, their cognitive load is freed up for meaning-making. Children must first develop their decoding skills in order to eventually become automatic decoders. But is an automatic decoder the same as a fluent reader? Consider this reading sample:

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By Anne Hauth March 18, 2025
Summer calendars tend to get very busy, despite many parents' best attempts to give their children plenty of unstructured free time. Quiet time to read might not earn a spot on the family calendar, but it should be highly prioritized nonetheless. Here are some tips to entice your kids to make reading part of their daily summer routine.
By Anne Hauth March 18, 2025
Boost your child's reading scores fast with One Minute Reader! Proven methods build fluency, vocabulary & confidence—just $8/month. Try it free today!
A mother comforting her son.
By Madeline Waters March 17, 2025
Boost your middle schooler's reading skills with age-appropriate content, fluency practice, and more. Discover effective strategies and the One Minute Reader program for reading success!
By Madeline Waters March 10, 2025
"Fluency is not an instructional target. It is the result of decoding instruction that leads to automatic word recognition." "If a child can decode accurately and automatically, they do not need fluency practice." "Fluency is an outcome of good decoding not a process to go through." "Fluency is a byproduct of solid word recognition skills and not its own distinct subskill." Have you ever heard someone say that reading fluency is just a natural byproduct of learning phonics? This idea has been a point of conversation lately in many literacy spaces, and surprisingly, it's not sparking much debate. Is reading fluency just a natural byproduct of decoding development? If only it were that simple! Fluency is one of the five essential components of reading because it’s a distinct part of skilled reading. Of course, the five components don’t exist in separate vacuums; they overlap and influence each other. Naturally, this can cause some confusion. Let’s discuss the relationship between phonics , fluency , and comprehension . There’s no doubt that automatic word recognition is a key reason why text fluency is so highly correlated with comprehension. When children can automatically read words, their cognitive load is freed up for meaning-making. Children must first develop their decoding skills in order to eventually become automatic decoders. But is an automatic decoder the same as a fluent reader? Consider this reading sample:
By Madeline Waters March 5, 2025
As parents, we all want to ensure our children become proficient readers. One of the key elements in achieving this goal is developing reading fluency. But what exactly is fluency, and why is it so important? What Is Oral Reading Fluency? Fluency is the ability to read "like you speak." It involves three key elements: Accurate reading of connected text Reading at a conversational rate Appropriate expression and prosody When children are fluent readers, they can read smoothly and effortlessly, making few mistakes, maintaining a good pace, and using proper expression. However, non-fluent readers may struggle in one or more of these areas, making frequent errors, reading slowly, or lacking proper phrasing and expression. Why Is Oral Reading Fluency Important? Fluency is crucial because it directly impacts reading comprehension. Research indicates that students who read fluently are better able to understand what they read. This is because fluent readers can focus their mental energy on comprehending the text rather than decoding words. According to Dr. S. Jay Samuels' automaticity theory, once students master the basic skills of reading and can decode words automatically, they have more mental capacity to understand and engage with the text. How Can I Help My Child Develop Their Oral Reading Fluency? Simply offering a selection of reading material and encouraging children to read is not enough for effective oral reading fluency development. Rather, they need structured support and targeted practice within a framework where they feel motivated and engaged. Research supports several effective strategies to improve oral reading fluency, including: Teacher Modeling : Students benefit from listening to proficient readers, whether it’s a parent, a teacher, a peer, or an audio recording. This helps them learn proper pronunciation, phrasing, and expression. Repeated Reading : Reading the same text multiple times helps students improve their reading rate and accuracy. Progress Monitoring : Setting specific reading goals and tracking progress motivates students to practice and helps them take accountability for their own learning. You might think, that's all well and good, but where am I supposed to find the time or resources to do that for my child? Enter One Minute Reader . As it turns out, you don't need to find time or resources... you just need this one tool. One Minute Reader: An At-Home Solution One Minute Reader is a highly effective, research-based program designed to help children develop oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension independently . This program offers structured reading practice through high-interest, level-appropriate stories that children can work on at their own pace. It offers: Teacher Modeling: Through audio recordings Repeated Reading: Through the read along and practice steps Progress Monitoring: Through graphs and reports and SO MUCH MORE! By using One Minute Reader at home, you can support your child's journey to becoming a fluent reader—setting them up for success in all their academic endeavors. Happy reading!
By Anne Hauth January 22, 2025
Valentine’s Day, a holiday about love, seems to instead fill a large portion of the population with dread. If romance isn’t your thing, you feel doomed. If you’re unpartnered, you feel left out. If you’re a teacher, you’re bracing yourself for a day of mayhem and over-sugared students. And if you’re a parent of school-aged children, your living space is suddenly littered with dozens of valentines your children need to address. Does anyone actually love this holiday? Perhaps those of us working with struggling readers can reclaim it. After all, the written word is central to many of the ways we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Here are some Valentine’s Day-themed literacy ideas parents can do with their kids leading up to the holiday: Have kids write a “love letter” to their favorite book or One Minute Reader story. In the letter, they should explore how the book/story relates to their own life and why it is meaningful to them. Require kids to use their school spelling words, challenging vocabulary words, or words from One Minute Reader stories as they write valentines to friends and family. Have kids use candy conversation hearts as starting points for thinking about and creating sentences. For example, how could a heart that says “Be Mine” be turned into a question or a declarative sentence? Explore the genre of poetry and teach kids about simile, metaphor, personification, alliteration, and rhyme. You could even read a few Shakespearean Sonnets together—it’s never too early! Allow kids to eat a treat and then think of five or more adjectives to describe it. The Internet is full of Valentine’s Day-themed printables, worksheets, and projects , such as word finds and puzzles. Or, design your own incorporating the words your students are currently studying. And of course, read plenty of feel-good and Valentine’s Day-themed books aloud to your kids, followed by meaningful discussion about the books' vocabulary and themes. We can also encourage parents to reframe how they think about all the valentines littering their homes, waiting to be addressed. Are they a tedious chore? Or do they provide SO MUCH reading and writing practice? (I’ll admit, I might need this reminder.) If you have any ideas to add to our list, we’d love to hear them. We’ll be thinking of you and your kids with great admiration, this week and always. Happy Valentine’s Day!
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