Timed reading for kids

Timed Repeated Readings | Classroom Strategies

Timed repeated readings are an instructional practice for monitoring students’ fluency development. Repeated readings, under timed conditions, of familiar instructional level text can increase students’ reading speed which can improve comprehension.

When to use:	Before reading	During reading	After reading
How to use:	Individually	With small groups	Whole class setting

Why use timed repeated readings?

It improves reading rate, one aspect of fluency.
It improves reading accuracy, a second aspect of fluency, and leads to improved comprehension.

How to use timed repeated readings

Timed repeated readings should be done using books or passages the student has read before that are at an independent reading level (i.e. books the student can read with 95% accuracy or above). Most timed repeated reading sessions should include 3-4 re-readings of the same text.

What you will need:

Two copies of the assessment passage — one for the student and one for the teacher
Stopwatch or clock
Pencil

Carefully select passage to be used, and determine the type of assessment information you want to gather:

One minute reading. The student reads for 1 minute. The teacher or partner counts the number of words read correctly in one minute (WCPM). This score is as valid as calculating perfect correct or accuracy on longer readings. Provide some practice time with non-assessment reading material before beginning the 1 minute timed reading.

Timed repeated readings. The student reads the same passage for 1 minute multiple times (3-5). The teacher or partner counts how words the student read in 1 minute. The number of words read results can be graphed using a bar graph.

Words correct per minute (WCPM). Choose a passage. Time the student when s/he reads the passage.

Collect resources

A student read a story with 148 words in 2 minutes, 55 seconds. She made 8 errors. To determine WCPM:

Count the total number of words.
Example: 148
Count the number of mistakes.
Example: 18
Take the number of words minus the number of mistakes = number of words read correctly.
Example: 148-18 = 130
Calculate percent accuracy: number of words read correctly divided by total number of words.
Example: 130/148 = 87%
Convert the time it took to read the passage to seconds.
Example: 2 minutes, 55 seconds = 175 seconds
Convert the number of seconds to a decimal by dividing the number of seconds by 60. This is the total reading time.
Example: 175 / 60 = 2.91
Divide the number of words read correctly by the total reading time in decimal form.
Example: 130 / 2.91 = 45 WCPM

Use these 2017 fluency norms from Hasbrouck and Tindal to determine the child's approximate percentile for oral reading fluency.

Differentiated instruction

For second language learners, students of varying reading skill, students with learning disabilities, and younger learners

Encourage students to become familiar with the strategy before introducing a stop watch.
Begin with materials that are familiar to the student.
Accommodate students who have speech impediments. Have them talk to you or read an extremely easy passage. Record their fastest rate of speech. Do not expect them to be able to read faster than this rate.
Use repeated reading as practice for the timed repeated reading. Have students read passages aloud several times while receiving feedback and guidance from an adult.
Have the adult or a more proficient student read the passage. Then have the student read the passage.
Teach students to be proud of their own progress and not compare it to others. Keep scores private.

Related strategies

See the research that supports this strategy

Council for Exceptional Children, the Division for Learning Disabilities (DLD) and the Division for Research (DR). Fluency Instruction.

Dowhower, S. (1989) Repeated reading: Research into practice. The Reading Teacher, 42(7), 502-507.

Hudson, R.F., Lane, H.B., & Pullen, P.C. (2005). Reading Fluency Assessment and Instruction: What, Why, and How?. The Reading Teacher, 58(8), 702-714.

Johns, J. & Berglund, R. (2002). Fluency: Question, answers, evidence-based strategies. Dubuque, IO: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

Kuhn, M. (2004). Helping students become accurate, expressive readers: Fluency instruction for small groups. The Reading Teacher, 58(4), 338-344.

Lee, J., & Yoon, S. Y. (2017). The Effects of Repeated Reading on Reading Fluency for Students With Reading Disabilities: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 50(2), 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219415605194

Murray, B. (1999). Two Methods for Developing Fluency.

Rasinski, T. (2003) The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. New York, NY: Scholastic Professional Books.

Samuels, S. J. (2002). Reading fluency: It's development and assessment. In Farstrup, A. & Samuels, S. (Ed.). What research has to say about reading instruction (pp. 166-183). Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.

Samuels, S. J. (1997). The method of repeated readings. The Reading Teacher, 50(5), 376-381.

Therrien, W. J. (2004). Fluency and Comprehension Gains as a Result of Repeated Reading: A Meta-Analysis. Remedial and Special Education, 25(4), 252–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/07419325040250040801

Vaca, R. & Vaca, J. (1999). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum, 6th edition. New York, NY: Logman.

Fluency | Reading Rockets

Fluency is defined as the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and proper expression. In order to understand what they read, children must be able to read fluently whether they are reading aloud or silently. When reading aloud, fluent readers read in phrases and add intonation appropriately. Their reading is smooth and has expression.

Children who do not read with fluency sound choppy and awkward. Those students may have difficulty with decoding skills or they may just need more practice with speed and smoothness in reading. Fluency is also important for motivation; children who find reading laborious tend not to want read! As readers head into upper elementary grades, fluency becomes increasingly important. The volume of reading required in the upper elementary years escalates dramatically. Students whose reading is slow or labored will have trouble meeting the reading demands of their grade level.

What the problem looks like

A kid's perspective: What this feels like to me

Children will usually express their frustration and difficulties in a general way, with statements like "I hate reading!" or "This is stupid!". But if they could, this is how kids might describe how fluency difficulties in particular affect their reading:

I just seem to get stuck when I try to read a lot of the words in this chapter.
It takes me so long to read something.
Reading through this book takes so much of my energy, I can't even think about what it means.

A parent's perspective: What I see at home

Here are some clues for parents that a child may have problems with fluency:

He knows how to read words but seems to take a long time to read a short book or passage silently.
She reads a book with no expression.
He stumbles a lot and loses his place when reading something aloud.
She reads aloud very slowly.
She moves her mouth when reading silently (subvocalizing).

A teacher's perspective: What I see in the classroom

Here are some clues for teachers that a student may have problems with fluency:

Her results on words-correct-per-minute assessments are below grade level or targeted benchmark.
She has difficulty and grows frustrated when reading aloud, either because of speed or accuracy.
He does not read aloud with expression; that is, he does not change his tone where appropriate.
She does not "chunk" words into meaningful units.
When reading, he doesn't pause at meaningful breaks within sentences or paragraphs.

How to help

With the help of parents and teachers, kids can learn strategies to cope with fluency issues that affect his or her reading. Below are some tips and specific things to do.

What kids can do to help themselves

Track the words with your finger as a parent or teacher reads a passage aloud. Then you read it.
Have a parent or teacher read aloud to you. Then, match your voice to theirs.
Read your favorite books and poems over and over again. Practice getting smoother and reading with expression.

What parents can do to help at home

Support and encourage your child. Realize that he or she is likely frustrated by reading.
Check with your child's teachers to find out their assessment of your child's word decoding skills.
If your child can decode words well, help him or her build speed and accuracy by:
- Reading aloud and having your child match his voice to yours
- Having your child practice reading the same list of words, phrase, or short passages several times
- Reminding your child to pause between sentences and phrases
Read aloud to your child to provide an example of how fluent reading sounds.
Give your child books with predictable vocabulary and clear rhythmic patterns so the child can "hear" the sound of fluent reading as he or she reads the book aloud.
Use books on tapes; have the child follow along in the print copy.

What teachers can do to help at school

Assess the student to make sure that word decoding or word recognition is not the source of the difficulty (if decoding is the source of the problem, decoding will need to be addressed in addition to reading speed and phrasing).
Give the student independent level texts that he or she can practice again and again. Time the student and calculate words-correct-per-minute regularly. The student can chart his or her own improvement.
Ask the student to match his or her voice to yours when reading aloud or to a tape recorded reading.
Read a short passage and then have the student immediately read it back to you.
Have the student practice reading a passage with a certain emotion, such as sadness or excitement, to emphasize expression and intonation.
Incorporate timed repeated readings into your instructional repertoire.
Plan lessons that explicitly teach students how to pay attention to clues in the text (for example, punctuation marks) that provide information about how that text should be read.

More information

Find out more about fluency issues with these resources:

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Especially for Parents

Research Briefs

standards for grades and quarters

Reading is a key skill that opens the gate to the land of knowledge for a child. Thanks to this skill, children learn about the phenomena and events of the world around them, get acquainted with the characters and actions of people, meet new problems and ideas. This skill helps them to broaden their horizons and ideas about the world, develops critical thinking and trains cognitive abilities - attention, imagination, memory. Reading is the foundation for further successful learning. nine0003

To understand how well a child develops this skill, it helps to check the reading technique. Reading technique is a multifactorial test that characterizes the development of a skill from different angles. In the technique of reading are evaluated:

reading speed,
reading method,
reading awareness,
correct reading,
expressiveness of reading.

A difficult reading skill consists of both a technical and a semantic component and is aimed at achieving the main goal - understanding and assimilation of the information read. nine0003

Reading technique parameters

Let's consider all the components of reading technique in more detail.

Reading speed - the number of words read in a certain period of time. Often, parents focus on the formation of fluent reading, while the child makes many mistakes, does not understand and does not remember what he read. It is not necessary to force only speed, slower conscious reading and a gradual increase in tempo are better than fast mechanical reading with errors and inaccuracies. nine0008
Way of reading — syllabic reading or reading the whole word, smoothly. With the development of the skill, the child has a gradual transition from syllabic reading to smooth reading in whole words.
The correct reading of is characterized by the absence of errors and hesitation. Inattention, problems of diction lead to inaccurate reading, indistinct articulation and, as a result, to a distortion of meaning. Pay attention to the correct reading - this will be the key to competent writing. nine0008
Reading awareness involves reading comprehension, awareness of the idea and meaning of the text, and in the future - this is the ability to catch the subtext, humor, irony, the attitude of the author. Interfering with reading comprehension can be low reading speed, distorted reproduction - guessing words, changing the shape of words, not reading endings.
Reading expressiveness - the use of pauses, finding the right intonation, the correct placement of stresses. The expressiveness of reading is inextricably linked with awareness. When understanding what is read, it is easier for the child to observe the necessary pauses, select the correct intonation and place logical stresses. nine0008

Reading speed standards for elementary school

GEF standards determine the desired reading speed for a child by a certain point in learning, help to understand whether the development of a skill is successful or whether additional attention is required. Standards - indicative values; it is important to take into account the individual psychophysiological characteristics of each child and evaluate the growth of his personal indicators.

Grade 1 reading speed standards

Reading speed standards in grade 2

Reading speed standards in grade 3

Reading velocity

Reading speed, to which it is necessary schools, is reading at the speed of conversational speech, 110-120 words per minute. The human articulatory apparatus has adapted to this speed over time. And most importantly, the reading should be conscious, correct, expressive. nine0003

How can I test my child's reading skills on my own?

Have your child see how well they read already. Usually children love to know how many centimeters they have grown, and they may also be interested in knowing their progress in reading. Warn about the upcoming test and ask the child to read quickly.

The control of reading technique in sensitive children who, due to their temperament, can hardly tolerate various tests, can be carried out imperceptibly or in the form of a game. Do not create unnecessary excitement around the upcoming test, do not arrange a test in the form of an exam. If the child is worried, stutters, transfer control to another time. nine0003

Verification process:

Prepare a clock with a second hand or use the stopwatch on your phone, and choose the appropriate text.
Ask the child to take a seat.
Show him the text and ask him to read it aloud.
Track the time from the moment your child starts reading. Not all children are able to immediately start reading on command, which leads to inaccurate results.
Usually, one minute is noted for checking, but some experts recommend taking 2 minutes for monitoring, since not all children are equally quickly included in the work. Divide the result obtained in 2 minutes in half. nine0008
Do not correct or interrupt while reading. It is better to discuss the mistakes made after the child has finished reading.
Assess the speed, correctness, awareness and expressiveness of reading.
Retest and compare results. Reading technique may differ depending on the child's fatigue, health status and mood.

Which text is suitable for verification?

Both fiction and non-fiction texts appropriate for the child's age are suitable for this purpose. The text should be unfamiliar, but understandable to the child, have educational and educational value. The texts of V. Bianchi, L. Tolstoy, N. Nosov, B. Zhitkov, K. Ushinsky, V. Dragunsky are suitable. The text for verification can be found in special manuals or in a textbook on the Russian language and literature. nine0003

You should find the text that is located on the spread of the book so that the child does not have to waste time turning pages. Choose text without an abundance of punctuation marks and distracting illustrations. It is not desirable that the passage contains common complex sentences and dialogues. The font must be large enough and legible. The text should not have a technical focus and contain terms incomprehensible to the child.

Test score

Speed score

Count how many words the child read in one minute. When counting words, pay attention:

prepositions, conjunctions, particles of 1-2 letters are counted as one word;
when wrapping, the word is counted as 2 words;
if the word is written with a hyphen, look at how many letters are on both sides of the hyphen: if there are more than three, we count it as 2 words, for example, "long, long", if less than three, for example, "somehow", - as one .

Compare your score with the recommended range and your child's previous performance. nine0003

Comprehension score

Determine how well the child understood what they read. If the student reads slowly and only read a couple of sentences, let him read the passage to the end. Ask your child a few questions about the text. Ask what or who he read about. Ask the child to identify the main idea of what they read and retell the text.

For a deeper check of the meaning of the reading and learning, use special teaching kits. nine0003

Correctness assessment

Pay attention to whether the child reads what is written correctly, whether he pronounces words clearly, whether there are hesitations and corrections, whether he alters words, whether he changes endings, whether he places stresses correctly. Discuss the mistakes with the student.

Evaluation of expressiveness

To assess the expressiveness of reading, the child is offered a familiar text. Listen to whether the child observes pauses and other punctuation marks, whether he changes intonation, whether he highlights the main idea. nine0003

Improving reading technique

Poor results in reading technique are not a reason to be upset, but only a signal that additional efforts need to be made to improve the skill. You can deal with the child on your own or contact a specialist who will analyze the weak points and select the appropriate exercises. Conduct additional activities with the child in the mode of "sparing reading" without pressure. It is more important to observe the regularity and frequency of classes: 10-20 minutes daily. nine0003

How can you motivate your child to read:

Reward your efforts with stickers, stars.
Mark progress visually - create a success board so your child can visually see their progress
Conduct activities in the form of a game, such as "going to the library" or "reading to your favorite toys."
Choose books and texts that are interesting for your child.
Let the child read to the pets, they are grateful and accepting listeners. Reading to them, the child is not afraid to make a mistake, he relaxes and overcomes the fear of failure. nine0008
Have a reading competition between peers and siblings.

To improve the speed of reading will help:

Reading by syllabic tables.
Multiple reading. Read the same text several times, increasing the pace. From the second time the child will be able to read faster.
"Tug". An adult leads a finger along the line, setting the pace. The child tries to read at a given pace.
Tops and roots. The child reads the words, covering the upper or lower half of the letters with a ruler. nine0008
Reading in a book turned upside down.
Lightning. Alternating reading at a comfortable pace with reading at the highest possible speed for 20 seconds on the command "Lightning!".
"Sprint". Reading speed competition between classmates.
Work on expanding the field of view according to Schulte tables.
Reading with a window to eliminate "regression" - recurrent eye movements that lead to repeated reading.

For correct reading:

Work on clear diction, do articulation exercises.
Read tongue twisters and tongue twisters.
Invite the child to correct the deformed sentences: "The weather is good on the street. "
"Imaginary word". When reading, the wrong word is pronounced, the child must correct it.

Reading comprehension

Wave Reading. First, the child reads aloud, then retells what he read.
The student reads to himself at a comfortable pace, tells what he understood and felt, what he thought about
Discuss unfamiliar words and expressions.
Invite the child to draw a picture of the passage they read.
Ask them to tell you what they liked about the text, what they remember.

For expressive reading

Role-playing, staging.
Put on a "radio show". nine0008
Expressive recitation of poems.
Voice flexibility training. The ability to speak quieter-louder, higher-lower.
Conducting reading indicating the tone or strength of the voice.
Live Picture. One reads, the other reacts with facial expressions.

Improving reading skills in elementary school is very important. It is fluent and meaningful reading that activates the processes of thinking, attention, memory and is the basis for a child's successful learning in the future. This detailed instruction on reading technique control will help you track and improve your child's skill development. nine0003

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Child development

5 Ways to Increase Your Reading Speed in 15 Minutes a Day, Even If You Didn't Pick Up a Book in the Summer

October 17, 2022 274 230 views

Olesya Akhmedzhanova

The ability to read is one of the main requirements for a first grader today. In elementary school, children are waiting for a cut in reading technique: with its help, the teacher checks how quickly the student delves into the text and whether he can perceive it without errors. Together with the teacher Polina Bulatova, we chose ways that will help improve the reading speed in elementary school in just 10-15 minutes a day.

Source

Tongue twisters

The use of tongue twisters is obvious: the child literally learns to “speak soon”. And by increasing the speed of speech, he begins to read and even think faster.

The coolest thing is that tongue twisters can be memorized anywhere: on the way to school, to music, dancing and karate, or in the morning, during breakfast.

Examples of tongue twisters

Here are some tongue twisters that you can learn with children.

At Senya and Sanya in the passage there is a catfish with a mustache. A wasp does not have a mustache, not a mustache, but a mustache. nine0008
Senka is carrying Sanka and Sonya on a sled. Sledge lope, Senka off his feet, Sonya on the forehead, all in a snowdrift.
Well done ate thirty-three pies with pie, and all with cottage cheese.
Thirty-three ships tacked, tacked, but did not catch.
Karl stole a coral from Clara, Clara stole a clarinet from Karl. Queen Clara severely punished Charles for stealing the coral.
Karl was putting the bow on the chest. Clara was stealing onions from the chest.
You can't over-speak all tongue twisters, you can't over-speak. nine0008

Even more examples can be found on special websites or in the Speech Talker application, where there are tongue twisters, poems, exercises, syllabaries and even breathing exercises.

Breathing

Sometimes the reason for slow reading is incorrect breathing. For example, a child says a phrase while inhaling.

Source

Try these breathing exercises.

Have the child take a deep breath and say as many words as they can as they exhale. nine0008
If the first exercise is easy, use lists of words. The technique is the same: the child takes a breath, and as he exhales, he reads a text or a list of words.

Schulte tables

Reading speed largely depends on how quickly the eye moves from line to line. Some children fail to read the text sequentially: they “jump” over the line, skip words, constantly return to the beginning of the sentence. Schulte tables will help fix this problem. nine0003

This is usually a 5x5 square table with numbers from 1 to 25 in its cells. Sometimes there are more columns and rows. The essence is simple: you need to quickly and consistently find the numbers in the table.

This is how the child expands the angle of vision, trains attention and learns to perceive information faster.

“There are many sites on the Internet with Schulte tables,” says speed reading teacher Polina Bulatova. “But it’s more convenient to download the application to your mobile phone (AppStore, GooglePlay) and train the skill when the time comes: in line with the doctor, at the passport office or in the store.” nine0003

Whole words

What if the student is still reading by syllables? We need to help him move on to reading whole words. The way out is simple, but very effective: place stresses in words.

If he pays attention to stress, he will not be able to read by syllables.

Try it yourself: with an accent, you won't be able to say "koto-fairy", but you will say "cat".

Stick stickers or cards with accented words at home. On a table, a refrigerator, a mirror, a kettle, a book with your favorite character. Where the child will definitely see the inscription. Start with simple words of two syllables, and then move on to complex ones of four or five. nine0003

Word ladders

Another easy way to improve your reading speed is word ladders. A short flight of stairs is when the length of a phrase gradually increases. For example:

cats
cats watching
cats look out the window
cats look out the window at clouds

Ladder also helps to train breathing. The most tangible difficulty is that you need to invent ladders yourself.