Reading Smoothly and Understanding Stories

You are learning to read short stories smoothly, at a steady pace, and to understand what happened in them. This builds on the bigger skill of Reading at Accurate Speed with Comprehension. Now you will read simple sentences and short stories on your own and answer easy questions about what happened.

Reading smoothly means your words flow together, like talking. You do not stop on every word. You do not rush so fast that the words run together. You read at a steady pace, one sentence after another, the same way you would tell a friend a story.

When you read smoothly, your brain has room to think about the story. If you read too slow and stop on every word, you may forget what happened at the start. If you rush too fast, you may miss important parts too.

A steady pace means you keep about the same speed from the first sentence to the last sentence. Try this short story out loud, at a steady pace:

"Sam had a red ball. He kicked the ball into the yard. His dog ran to get it. Sam and the dog played all day."

Read it again. Did you read each sentence at about the same speed? Did you pause at the periods, but not stop for a long time? That steady, even pace is what helps you follow the story from beginning to end.

After you read a story at a steady pace, you can answer simple questions about it. Look at the story about Sam again. Try to answer these questions:

• Who is in the story? (Sam and his dog)
• What did Sam have? (A red ball)
• Where did Sam kick the ball? (Into the yard)
• What happened at the end? (Sam and the dog played all day)

If you can answer these questions, it means you were understanding the story while you read it, not just saying the words.

Read this story out loud at a steady pace. Try not to stop too long on any word.

"Mia went to the park. She saw a big slide. Mia climbed up and slid down fast. She smiled and went to slide again."

Now answer these questions: Who went to the park? What did Mia see? What did Mia do on the slide? Answering these questions right after reading shows you kept your understanding while reading smoothly. You will keep growing this skill in Fluent Reading and Story Comprehension.

Steady Pace: Reading at about the same speed all the way through a story.

Smooth Reading: Reading words together like talking, without long stops.

What Happened: The events in a story, in the order they took place.

Who, What, Where: Simple question words used to check what you understood.

Retell: To tell the story again in your own words, in the right order.

Read a short story two times. The first time, just read it at a steady pace. The second time, stop after each page and say one thing that happened. You can also read a story to a family member, then let them ask you one question about it, like "What happened at the end?"

Draw a picture of what happened in a story you just read. This helps you check that you understood it while reading smoothly.

Related lessons

• Reading at Accurate Speed with Comprehension