Last Updated on October 1, 2024 by Editorial Team
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Reading fluency is an aspect of early education that comes with practice and perseverance. It is achieved if a person is able to identify the words, pronounce them correctly, and also read them basis the punctuation marks provided in the sentence. A fluent reader is one who is able to engage the listeners with reading using correct expressions. Thus, the three aspects of reading fluency are characterized by speed, accuracy, and prosody.
Reading fluency means reading the words at speed, with correct pronunciation, and in a way so that the message of the sentence or a paragraph is conveyed clearly to the listener. This fluency, therefore, is a collective outcome of:
- Phonemic awareness
- Phonic awareness
- Sight word recognition ability
- Spelling ability
- Knowledge and use of punctuation marks
It is very essential to ‘learn to read’ in order to ‘read to learn’. For children having learning difficulties, there is a need to find alternative ways of building fluency which is otherwise done by giving conventional reading practice to them. These alternatives are available in the form of manipulatives or reading fluency games.
Role of reading fluency games
Reading fluency games are developed with a variety of motives. Some are aimed at word-picture recognition, a few give the practice of spelling and pronunciation. There are still other games that are time-pressed and require children to complete the activity in a limited timeframe.
The best part of these games is that the children get to grasp reading fluency by the way of collaborative and participative learning. These ways are quite helpful in building word memory and promoting the retention of reading fluency concepts in mind. In addition to all this, reading fluency games can help in:
- promoting analytical thinking
- improving comprehension
- increasing engagement
- building coherence in thoughts
Top 10 board games for reading fluency
We’ve curated a list of the top 10 reading fluency board games that can assist in building this skill in children and evolve them from reading beginners to a fluent readers.
1. Monopoly Junior
Monopoly is the first choice of both the parents and kids as their first board game gift. This game allows the children to learn words and spellings and recognize the words’ families through the gamification procedure. The players are required to buy some kid-friendly properties and follow various other instructions using the cue cards. Thus, children above 5 years can benefit from this game and can develop a sound vocabulary as well as get reading practice.
2. Edupress Inference School days
An excellent game for both reading as well as reading comprehension, the game asks the participant to read a story card and answer simple reading comprehension questions about it. This is a journey from school to college level and the winner gets to earn a diploma! The best part of the game is that there is less performance pressure as the game keeps moving forward at a fast pace and the child gets to enjoy the entire journey as a gameplay.
The game is also available in two levels, so you can choose according to the reading fluency level your child is currently on.
3. Sight, Word, Stomp!
This Dino game is a pre school level Dino game to develop flash reading skills. With more than a hundred pieces, the kids have to sight the given word in the jumble of words and stomp the words with their Dino. The Sight words are designed for 1 to 4 players and thus can even be used for solo play.This is truly the Gift of learning for your child.
4. Pressman Charades
You can teach the child to speak without requiring him to read in a literal sense. Children are given clues in the form of hint cards. These cards are carrying clues to give to other children to guess the word or thing. Other children try to answer using the clues provided. It helps bring a pattern in the way of thinking and kids are learning to express themselves by identifying and relating the clues with the answer.
5. Carson Dellosa – Sentence Building Literacy Resource
This sentence-building activity kit comprises of interlockable cards that fit only when the sequence of the words chosen is correct. Thus, by the way of moving and arranging the card, the children are able to build sentences fluently. This reading fluency game is ideal for grade 1 to grade 3 students and helps them enhance their sentence construction skills without actually resorting to conventional reading of books.
6. Boggle
The game is designed to teach transforming the letters into words in a fun way. It is designed for children in the preschool stage. The early learners can play with the alphabet cubes and make combinations of those resulting in words. Matching word pictures helps build and retain the word-building concept. It is useful in building vocabulary, knowing the spellings, and in picture recognition.
7. Splat Sight Words Card Game
Reading fluency for a grade 1 or grade 2 comprises mainly of recognizing sight words. The students can become comfortable with sight words through gamification way. About 75 sight words included in this game offer ample practice for building reading fluency. It can help strengthen the foundation of word-building ability, which will be further be used for making fluent sentences.
8. Think Fun Zingo Sight Words
Zingo Sight words is an award winning Early reading game to encourage reading habits in young kids. The Zingo card-dealing machine is the star attraction of the game, and it also comes with an easy instruction manual so that you may start the game within minutes of opening the box. The images with words help the kid in developing associational reading skills while adding a creative touch to it. Infact, the game is so much fun that even adults can join in from time to time!
9. Learning Resources Snap it up
This fast paced game encourages flash reading with the 90 boldly printed cards. Players pick and pass cards as fast as they can, building words at a record speed. This game not only reinforces reading habits but phonics skills as well. Also it encourages critical thinking and overall social skills development. The first player to make three correct words wins. It is truly a game to snap it up.
10. Learning Resources Pops for Blends Game
It is a great grab and go game to boost phonological awareness and reading skills. All you have to do is pick a card,say a word with that blend and keep the kernel. The kid who collects the most number of kernels wins. However, there is a twist. Pick up a POP card and all the pieces go back. The game consists of 92 blend cards, 8 Pop cards, a spinner and a guide. It is an easy game to carry around whether on a picnic or a friendly kids meet. Let the popping begin.
Conclusion:
Reading opens the imagination doors of the world even when you are sitting in the comfort of your home. Early initiation into the habit of reading helps in the overall intellectual and personality development of the child. But a child is a child and a child needs to play! That is why with these board games we engage the fun of games with the blessings of learning, so the child reads with joy!
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,