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Do you know the benefits of re-reading books?
About this time of year, I usually get a flurry of emails from parents who are worried that their children are re-reading the same books over and over and want them to branch out more. This is actually a common habit for young readers and even better, there are some huge benefits to re-reading! It can actually help your child grow as a reader, and here's an excerpt from one of my favorite reading resources to tell us why:
Re-reading is very comforting! It is hugely reassuring to kids to return to the same books over and over, much the way adults re-watch favorite shows or movies.
Re-reading helps build a larger vocabulary! Vocabulary growth comes from repeated exposure to words and phrases. Here is a fascinating article about how three year olds who were read the same book over and over learned new words while those who were read a variety didn't learn any of the new words they saw.
Re-reading helps children understand how language and reading works. Great reading is more than just decoding words on a page – it’s understanding how words and language should sound. Listening to a parent read aloud the same book repeatedly or re-reading the same book on their own helps children develop that understanding of how language works and how books tell stories.
Re-reading supports fluency. It is one of the BEST ways to build fluency because children are building on their previous knowledge of the story and vocabulary and instead of having to focus so much on each word, they can read with much more fluency on repeat readings.
Re-reading builds comprehension skills. With every re-read, kids able to focus more on the plot and characters and other literary parts of the story and less on the actual mechanics of reading. If your child struggles with comprehension, re-reading is a simple way to work on building those comprehension skills!
Re-reading makes kids more confident readers. A child that reads fluently, has a great vocabulary and can comprehend the story are going to be more confident readers – since rereading helps build ALL those skills, the more they reread, the more confident they’ll become as readers.
Re-reading helps children identify as readers. The thing that helps children feel like readers? READING. If you’re shutting down re-reading or shaming your child for choosing to return to a favorite book, they’re more likely to resist reading in general and that’s going to make them feel less like a reader. Give your child as many opportunities as you can to have positive experiences with books and reading and build strong and happy associations with books – re-reading is such a simple way to do this!
The above was sourced from one of my favorite reading resources, Everyday Reading. Janssen Bradshaw is a former children's librarian with great taste and recommendations for the whole family!
And don't forget that I am here for you as a reading resource as well. Please don't hestitate to ask me for book recommendations and help for yourself or your child!
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