Fluency may unlock phonics for struggling readers, researcher says

New observations from reading researcher Matthew Glavach suggest some children, including many with dyslexia, may learn to read in reverse: fluency first, phonics second. The finding could influence how schools and families approach early intervention for students who stall on sound-based reading instruction.

Why it matters: - Glavach's observations point to a different path for some struggling readers. - The finding matters most for children who stall when instruction focuses on isolating speech sounds. - If fluency can come first, reading support may need to start with connected text before moving harder into phonics.

What happened: - Matthew Glavach, Ph.D., founder of StrugglingReaders.com, observed that some struggling readers, including many with dyslexia, appear to learn to read in reverse. - In that pattern, children develop phonics skills after fluency with connected text improves. - Glavach shifted instruction to repeated oral reading with enjoyable books and phrase-cued fluency techniques. - As fluency increased, students began recognizing words automatically and approaching new words with more confidence. - Glavach said, "It was as if these children were learning to read in reverse. Fluency came first, and phonics followed." - Glavach said the approach does not replace phonics; it prepares children to succeed with phonics.

The details: - Phonics can support reading, but isolating speech sounds is difficult for many struggling readers. - That difficulty can lead to frustration and stalled progress. - The approach used repeated oral reading rather than starting with sound isolation alone. - The fluency work used enjoyable books and phrase-cued techniques. - Schools and families report rapid gains from the method. - One reported outcome was more than 1.5 years of growth in six months for students who had scored below the 35th percentile.

Between the lines: - The observations challenge a one-size-fits-all sequence for reading instruction. - For some students, fluency may create the confidence and automatic word recognition needed to make phonics instruction stick. - The results described are encouraging, but they come from reported observations rather than a large-scale controlled study in the source material.

What's next: - The observation may push more educators to test fluency-first strategies alongside phonics instruction. - Families and schools working with children who struggle on sound-based tasks may look for approaches that build connected-text reading earlier. - Glavach's work may continue through StrugglingReaders.com and related school or family support efforts.

The bottom line: - For some struggling readers, fluency may be the door that opens phonics, not the other way around.