I have a son working between grade 1-2. He reads sight words, c-v-c words, magic E words, initial and final blends, etc…he just finished level 1 AAR and next week we start AAR 2. His fluency is still slow. I have him read a tad below his level throughout the day to try to help. His confidence in reading is also low, he says he’s not a good reader:( my heart is sad for him:( He doesn’t like to read, I love to read and I hope he enjoys it someday. Any ideas?
Find some really great read aloud and read to him alot. Help him find that books are a great adventure.
Take him to the library every week and let him pick out his own books. Let him take books to bed and let him stay up 30 minutes longer if he wants to read a book bed. Make reading fun and don’t push him. For my daughters I like to make book something they’ll get excited for. We give books as surprises and rewards.
I also have them listen to audio books as they read along.
I hear boys take longer to take a hold a reading, so give him time and don’t push him. Aside from continuing his reading lessons, lots of cuddling on the couch with a good book to read to him.
This sounds like my daughter! At the start of this year - 2nd grade - she said almost the exact same thing to me: she was not a good reader. It made me so sad too.
With K12 - they are supposed to sound out everything by themselves - with no help - so I decided to try something new.
So - I started spending extra time reading with her at night. I found some books that were her level and slightly higher to challenge her. Instead of making her read and sound out every word if she had trouble with it I would just read it so that the story would flow. I think it helps her remember the words better - because she is reading it right with my help, and not reading it wrong. Always I would offer encouragement if she got a word that she had been having trouble with. Positive reinforcement went a long way with her. By the end of the year she is reading much more smoothly, and at a much higher level. She still has trouble with words - but it is much better - and she is enjoying reading much more.
Also - the more practice the better!
Hope this helps!
PS - here are some books that she really enjoyed:
Claude at the Beach - (and all the Claude books)
Geronimo Stilton Books (lots of pictures, but bigger chapter books.)
I love the “I Am Going to Read” series - it comes in 50 words to 200 words - Leveled readers - You can get them easily on Amazon.
My son enjoys:
The Notebook of Doom series
Thank you for the encourgment @sgrrrbear! I will check those books out and see if our library has them. I think you are right, the more practice the better:)
I have probably shown my frustration over this, so I need to make sure there’s no pressure on him:) thank you @bttrflynthesky for reminding me of that😀
You’re welcome! 
Anytime - let me know if you would like more book titles, or would just like to chat about it. I have faith in you - I know you can do it. Have a great day!
My response will be of no help. I just want you to know you’re not alone. I have the same problem, but quite the opposite. I have a 6 year old that can read at a highschool level. She reads incredibly well, and she knows she’s a good reader. HOWEVER her pace and fluency are completely off. She takes breaths in the middle of words… reads slow for half of a sentence, then fast for the rest (or the other way around)… reads incredibly quiet and mumbled. I have been trying so hard to strive for clarity, pace and voice control, but it’s just not happening. Despite all of our efforts, I’m not even sure she gets that these are problems for her. You are not alone in the reading fluency issue. I imagine that the most we can do is to keep trying and eventually they will “get it”
You may also want to look into Diane Craft brain training or check for tracking issues. A couple of my nieces were tested and ended up needing vision therapy. It has helped their reading tremendously. They didn’t have bad eyesight, just tracking issues.
Reading isn’t much fun in the “learn to read” stage (unless you are blessed with a child who doesn’t mind that stage–my dd didn’t mind too much but my ds really disliked it!) It’s “work,” and reading really isn’t all that enjoyable until it “comes naturally”–which does take lots of practice.
Have you seen the fluency tips for practicing the fluency pages more or the games you can play with the word cards? I collected a bunch of ideas for that on my blog. Also, make it fun to review those word cards–for example, tape a bunch to the wall, and let him shoot them with nerf darts or hit them with paper-wad snowballs as he reads them. Or use this mom’s idea for a sight-word parking lot–and use word cards for the parking spots.
Anything you can do to make it fun–buddy reading (he reads, then you read–or get a favorite puppet or stuffed animal or rescue hero to be the buddy reader)–switch back and forth. My kids and I did a lot of buddy reading in the early days. You can do a reader 3 times that way too–first time one reads even pages & the other reads odds, then switch, then the third time he can do it himself. Or, let him practice the story on the family pet or his stuffed animals, dad, a baby sibling, grandma…anyone who might listen.
HTH some. Hang in there!
My son was like that when he was younger, the teacher and myself had him read the same book over and over until he could almost recite it from memory. When this happens he will read it without really reading it and then you can get all excited and praise him. That way when he starts reading another book his confidence in reading is higher and he will try harder to get that praise again and repeat until his confidence is soaring and he will continue even if he fails to read it fluently, he will still try without getting frustrated. My son is now a more fluent reader and is more confident in reading even things that are too difficult for him. Best of luck and I hope that this helps