Rereading is a Good Thing

Those of us will little kids (under 3) know that they LOVE to have the same books read again and again and AGAIN -- to the point where we have them memorized. That's great - first off, it shows that they enjoy books and reading -- keep them on that path!

What I have been trying to do with Nick is to find something new to talk about each time we read it. Maybe we look at the picture, or look at letters, or point out words. Try and make rereading something they just like to do.

It is really great, when they are older, for them to continue to reread things. Many times, I will "point" other kids to look for things they didn't notice before on previous reads...or things they understood in a new/different way.

The first time kids read things, it's similar to the first time they see a movie -- it goes by quickly and they get the main jist...but when they see those movies again the second and even third time, they are seeing details they didn't see before.

Very true for reading, especially if kids are just moving up a level to more difficult text.

How do I get them to reread? I let them read independently first, then the second time, we may read together. The third time, I may have them read again on their own, but this time ask them to look for something specific, say, description of a scene or a character to see if they "see" the picture differently in their minds.

Rereading is great for fluency too. You can play around with a timer and ask them to "beat their time" on further readings. They can either read a page and you can clock the time, or my favorite way is to set a timer for 10 minutes or so and ask them to write down the page they start and finish. The next time, again 10 minutes, record start and stop pages to see if they read more this time.

Don't diminish the power this will have. Trust me. Their understanding of the story will improve, plus they will have practiced reading!