The Importance of Fluency
When we talk about learning to read, phonics quite rightly gets a lot of attention.
It's the foundation of reading. It teaches children how letters represent sounds and how those sounds blend together to make words.
But learning phonics isn't the finish line.
Once children can decode words accurately, there's another crucial stage in their reading journey that often receives far less attention.
It's called reading fluency.
What is reading fluency?
Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, smoothly and with expression.
A fluent reader doesn't stop and sound out words. Instead, they can read sentences naturally, almost as if they're speaking.
Think about a child reading this sentence.
At first it might sound something like this:
"The.….. d-o-g.….. r-a-n.….. a-c-r-o-ss.….. the.….. f-ie-l-d."
Every word takes effort.
As their fluency develops, that same sentence becomes:
"The dog ran across the field."
The words flow together, punctuation is noticed and meaning starts to come alive.
Why does fluency matter so much?
When children are still concentrating hard on decoding every word, they're using a huge amount of brain power just to work out what the words say.
That leaves very little mental space for understanding what those words actually mean.
Imagine trying to listen to a story while solving an extremely difficult puzzle at the same time. You might manage it, but it would be exhausting.
Reading can feel exactly like that for children who can decode but haven't yet developed fluency.
Once word reading becomes more automatic, their brain is free to focus on something much more important—making sense of what they're reading.
Fluency is the bridge to comprehension
People often assume that if a child can read the words, they automatically understand the text.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that.
Children first learn to decode through phonics. Then they develop fluency as those decoding skills become increasingly automatic.
Only then does comprehension really begin to flourish because the brain has enough capacity to think about the story rather than simply recognising the words.
That's why fluency is often described as the bridge between phonics and comprehension.
Without that bridge, understanding can be much harder.
What does a fluent reader sound like?
Fluent reading isn't simply reading quickly. That is part of it but there’s more.
In fact, reading too quickly can sometimes reduce understanding, both for the reader and the listener.
Instead, fluent readers:
read accurately
recognise familiar words automatically
pause naturally at punctuation
group words into meaningful phrases
use expression and intonation that reflects the meaning of the text.
Fluent readers are easy to listen to, their reading helps the listener to understand the text, to engage in the story or follow the information. Great fluent readers reading great texts hold attention, create suspense, take the listener on the journey with them.
Can fluency be taught?
Absolutely. Like any skill, fluency develops through practice. That means reading the same book or even sentence over and over and over again until it is fluent. Practicing like someone practicing their lines for a play. Some parents worry that this is not reading, it’s just remembering - but a large part of reading IS remembering! Reading the same sentence over and over until it is read perfectly can give young readers a great sense of achievement. It can also be the moment when they realise that all these words on the page are telling them a story or some interesting information.
Reading aloud together is also incredibly valuable. When children regularly hear expressive reading, they learn what fluent reading sounds like. They begin to notice rhythm, intonation and phrasing, not just individual words.
And perhaps most importantly, children need time. Fluency isn't something that appears overnight. It develops gradually as confidence, experience and automaticity grow.
Every reader develops fluency at their own pace
Just as children learn phonics at different rates, they also develop fluency differently.
Some children become fluent readers very quickly.
Others continue decoding accurately for quite some time before their reading starts to flow.
That doesn't mean they aren't making progress.
Fluency is built through consistent practice, encouragement and reading success. Every book a child reads is another opportunity for those skills to strengthen.
Reading is meant to make sense
The goal of reading has never been simply saying the words on the page.
The goal is understanding them.
Phonics gives children the tools to crack the reading code.
Fluency helps those skills become automatic.
And once that happens, children can focus on the reason we read in the first place—to learn, imagine, question, laugh, discover and enjoy.
Because reading isn't just about recognising words.
It's about making meaning from them.
