Does your child seem more focused on rate than on overall reading improvement? As young readers build fluency, it’s natural for them to them to try to read faster. When they become too focused on speed, however, they often lose accuracy and expression. Reading fluently means reading accurately, expressively, and at an appropriate rate. In other words, fluency means reading “like you speak,” at a rate others can easily understand. The ultimate goal of reading is always comprehension, not speed.

How can you slow down readers who are overly focused on rate? Here are some ideas we've collected over the years:

1. Read along with your child and tap the table twice for every period and once for every comma. This helps them internalize how long to pause for punctuation. Then teach them to tap the table in the same manner as they read alone.
2. Teach your child to take a breath before each punctuation mark.
3. Model fast reading and then reading with expression to demonstrate the difference.
4. Use a metronome to help your child stay with the beat.
5. Show your child a segment on the Discovery Channel or a similar program and direct them to pay attention to the narrator’s voice. Encourage them to sound like the narrator when they read—to have a clear voice that people can easily understand.
6. Have “Radio Friday” (or another day of the week) in which your child can practice reading a passage like a newscaster or a radio personality.
7. Post a humorous sign in your reading space with the message you want to get across, such as, "Slow down, or you will be pulled over for speeding!" 

If your child is working in One Minute Reader or a program with a timed-reading component, try the following:

• Have your child read the passage to you, untimed and with correct phrasing, before the timed reading.
• Emphasize comprehension by having your child retell the story to you before the timed reading.
• In One Minute Reader, reduce the number of read-alongs. With less audio support, developing readers will need to work harder on word recognition, forcing them to slow down and learn to read the words accurately.

If you’re taking remedial actions like reducing the number of read-alongs, it’s important to try just one remedial action at a time, and give your child time to adjust. Often a nudge in the right direction is enough to help them slow down.

It is exciting for young learners to increase the rate at which they can read, but becoming truly fluent is inherently more rewarding. When readers are fluent with the text, they have enough mental energy left to comprehend. As we already know, comprehension is what makes reading enjoyable and life-changing.

Do you have additional suggestions for slowing down your speed readers? We’d love to hear what’s worked for you. Click here to share!