Reading too fast may seem like an unusual discussion to have on a website that focuses on reading difficulties. However, it isn’t an uncommon problem and is often associated with:
- Omitting words.
- Inserting extra words.
- Reading words incorrectly, including reading the wrong suffix.
- Substituting one word for another (e.g., reading ‘a’ instead of ‘the’ and vice versa).
- Ignoring punctuation.
The above problems are then often associated with poor comprehension.
Some Strategies
- Explain that reading should be at the same pace as regular talking—not too fast and not too slow.
- Record the student reading and then play back the recording. It can be useful to have the student read at their usual pace and then again at a slower pace and to discuss the difference.
- Teach the student to take a breath at the end of sentences and to make their voice go slightly down if it is a full stop and slightly up for a question mark. The first word of each new sentence should start at a slightly higher pitch than the following words. See the posts on Developing Fluency and Prosody and Reading with Expression.
- If reading with accuracy is an underlying problem, take a paragraph from some text that is a little outside your students’ current reading ability. You want it to contain a number of words that they won’t instantly recognise. As the student reads the passage, record the number of errors made. The next time, before they start the activity, remind them of how many errors were made the previous time and see if they can ‘break their record’ by making less errors. I have an additional ‘rule’ whereby if they ask for help or check if they have pronounced a word correctly that this is not considered an error. This activity really helps make students accountable for their reading which results in them reading a little slower and with more accuracy.