Child Fluency

Is there an easy way for children to remember what we teach them?  The answer is yes!  The way to do it is to teach your child a skill and then have him practice that skill daily under timed conditions.  After your child gets a one minute score, have him record his progress graphically for physical proof of achievement.  With this easy to follow method, you’ll have the satisfaction of seeing your child become fluent in the desired skill. 

Fluency is accurate performance that is quick, easy, and automatic (without hesitation).  If a child is fluent in a particular skill, they’ll have that knowledge forever.  They will easily be able to remember it with no practice.  In essence, a child with fluency will have true mastery of a skill.  

Keep in mind that the significant differences between experts and beginners are speed, accuracy, and endurance.  It is not enough to just have the knowledge; a child needs to be able to remember it, quickly access it, and use it when needed.  So it’s very important to teach to fluency in the basic skills, since your children will be building on this foundation. 

How do you go about teaching fluency?  One quick and objective way is to pick a skill your child needs to work on and set a goal.  This goal should be in a fluent range, or a range that an expert would perform in.  If you don’t know what a fluent range is for a skill, time yourself doing that skill and have your students aim to reach your range.  

For example, let’s say you have a child Susan who knows her addition math facts, but is too slow.  The fluent range for math facts is approximately 60-100 facts/minute.  You would set the goal for Susan to accurately say at least 60 addition math facts in one minute.  Your next step would be to have Susan practice daily with a worksheet of at least 60-80 addition problems while being timed for one minute.  Susan would then graph her score.  From the graph, you’d both be able to clearly see how Susan was progressing and make any necessary changes if needed.

You’ll know Susan has achieved fluency once she is able to do at least 60 addition facts in one minute for three days straight.  To be sure she has retained her fluency you would test Susan again weekly and then monthly. 

Having children attain fluency in the basic skills is extremely important for their later success.  It’s not hard to have your children achieve fluency, but you have to follow a systematic process that works.  It’s a win-win situation for both the child and teacher as both get to see proven progress and results.