Reading in Phrases, Not Word by Word

Group words that go together so your reading flows.

Words in a sentence travel in small groups called phrases. When you read a whole phrase together, your reading flows. Look at this sentence: 'My little sister / found a shell / at the beach. ' The slashes show the groups.

'My little sister' goes together because it tells who. 'Found a shell' tells what she did. 'At the beach' tells where. Read each group in one breath, then go on to the next. Try it with 'The big red bus / stopped / at our house.

' It sounds much better than reading one word at a time.

• 1A phrase is a small group of words that go together.
• 2Read each phrase in one breath.
• 3Phrases often tell who, what, or where.