Children of this age are trying their best to write clearly in a straight line. They should know to write from left to right across a page and will attempt to form letters of a uniform size.

A Frequent reader, age 6-11, reads about 44 books per year, while an Infrequent reader reads only around 22. And that difference increases substantially as kids get older. Infrequent readers, age 12-17, only read 4.7 books a year. Note that the frequency of reading drops off heavily in the teen years.

Bedtimes by Age

10 Strategies for fluency

1. Record students reading aloud on their own.
2. Ask kids to use a ruler or finger to follow along.
3. Have them read the same thing several times.
4. Pre-teach vocabulary.
5. Drill sight words.
6. Make use of a variety of books and materials.
7. Try different font and text sizes.
8. Create a stress free environment.

Struggling readers may:

• Not be primarily auditory.
• Need hooks for learning and remembering.
• Benefit from body motions that match the meaning of the words.
• Have trouble handling a lot of details while learning.
• Not have their basic sounds down pat.
• Mix up the sequence of letters in words.

Reading aloud is considered the best way for caregivers to prepare a child to learn to read. The panel’s analysis showed that the best approaches to reading instruction have the following elements: Explicit instruction in phonemic awareness. Systematic phonics instruction.