The bad news is that typically the techniques cannot be implemented in the classroom since they require lots of practice carried out under adult supervision. Specifically, the child has to read aloud for sustained periods (e.g., ten-to-fifteen minutes at a time) while receiving steady guidance and feedback from an adult. The group situation in the classroom simply does not provide the possibility for individual children to have this kind of experience.

But there is a place where these opportunities do exist. That place is the home. There is no place better for nurturing this vital skill. And the time involved is not very great. You can get fabulous results through three sessions a week with each session lasting about 20-30 minutes.

One of the best methods to use is "guided repeated oral reading." The first step in the process involves selecting the right material. It's best to avoid short, isolated segments (like those in magazines or workbooks) and instead choose books so that each session builds on the ideas that went before. It is good if the books are not narratives (stories) but rather those that convey information, such as you find in biographies (e.g., Ben Franklin), books on famous events (e.g., the Titanic); science (e.g., dinosaurs).

Then much like Goldilocks, the content has to be "just right"--it cannot be too easy (since that would not teach your child anything) and it cannot be too hard (since that would overwhelm your child with error and frustration). Operationally, "just right" content is slightly above your child’s level. This will generally be material where he or she has a ten percent error rate (that is, the mistakes are fewer than one out of 10 words) or material that he or she reads accurately, but slowly.

With the material selected, you start by reading a segment (generally a paragraph) aloud to your child while he or she looks at the text. Then your child reads the same segment back to you--with the goal being errorless reading. If there is an error, you immediately stop your child and offer a correction. Then you have him or her go back to the beginning of the paragraph and start again. Similarly, if your child is reading at an excessively slow rate, you have him or her repeat the paragraph until the speed is more appropriate. In other words, you are setting a high--but attainable--standard.

The importance of smooth, errorless reading cannot be overestimated. Typically children who have fluency problems have fallen into a pattern of reading with unacceptably high rates of error. As the material gets more complex, those errors prevent comprehension and reading becomes increasingly frustrating and confusing. By helping to turn this pattern around, you are laying the foundation for successful reading for years to come.

How many segments should you do in a session? A good starting formula is to aim for about three. When this is going smoothly, you can extend it to five or six. Also as your child’s reading skill improves, you should move to more complex books.

How long should this method be maintained? Your child’s performance determines the answer to that question. Typically, if you do the program regularly, you will see significant improvement within six to eight weeks. And your end goal should be having your child attain fluency with material about one grade above his or her class level. That way, any material he or she has to deal with in class is "easy." Typically when parents hear that they can expect their child to read a year above grade level, they stare in disbelief. But, as you will see if you try this method, guided repeated oral reading is a fabulous tool if you set up a plan for using it in a steady, systematic way.