Repeated Reading

BENEFITS

---

Repeated reading helps students build fluency, automaticity, and confidence, which in turn supports better comprehension and long-term reading success. It is especially beneficial for students whose decoding is in place but whose fluency is weak, including many struggling or disabled readers.

• As decoding becomes more automatic through practice with the same text, students can allocate more cognitive resources to meaning rather than word-by-word effort.

 

• Because sessions can be brief (often 10–20 minutes, several times per week) and highly structured, repeated reading fits well in Tier 2/Tier 3 intervention and special education settings.

 

• As students hear themselves reading more smoothly and quickly over multiple attempts, many experience a visible boost in confidence and willingness to read aloud. link

 

 

 

HOW TO

---

• Explain to students how practice helps reading

 

•  Select appropriate reading rate goals for each student. For students who are already reading at a high rate, set a specific number of re-readings rather than a rate goal.

 

• .Select reading selections at appropriate reading levels for each student.

 

• The student rereads the passage until he/she reaches the fluency goal or set number of re-readings.    Samuels (1979)

 

• Radio reading – student pretends to be radio announcer.

 

• Mumble reading – soft and low voice.

 

• Recording reading – record student; then teacher models word by word vs. phrase reading; review passage marking phrases; student practice phrase reading.

 

• Paired reading – pairs; each student reads same passage 3 times; then next student reads. Review progress with rubric.

 

• Dialogic reading – teacher prepares 3 questions in advance; reader seeks to find answer to question 1, then rereads to find answer to question 2, then rereads to find answer to question 3.

 

• Say it like the Character – readers become the characters and read with expression.

 

• Paired Cooperative Reading – first pair reads passage 3 times; second pair reads passage 3 times; then discuss and find answers to comprehension questions.

 

• Repeated Reading Center – student makes tapes of themself reading daily. Chart progress according to rubric.

 

• Take Turns: student reads, then adult reads, then student reads, then adult reads – encourage student to increase automaticity and fluency during subsequent turns.

 

• Repeated Reading of High Frequency words – use flash cards of high frequency words or My Short Books series. Link

 

 

 

Repeated Reading Directions for the Learner

---

1.Choose a story that interests you from the list the teacher gives you.

 

2.Practice reading the story alone, with a friend or with your teacher for 10 minutes (or read the story three times).

 

3.Ask for help pronouncing words when you need it.

 

4. After you have practiced reading the passage, record your progress.

 

5. Compare your performance with the reading rate given to you by your teacher. Samuels (1979)

 

 

 

CHALLENGES

---

• Repeated reading is time‑intensive, especially when done one‑on‑one with feedback and timing; large classes make it hard to provide enough quality repetitions per student.

 

• Some students report boredom or frustration with rereading the same passage, especially older or more proficient readers who prefer novel texts.

 

• Struggling readers can feel exposed when their fluency is repeatedly timed and graphed, which may heighten anxiety and reduce willingness to participate.

 

• Choosing texts that are too easy, too hard, or poorly matched to students’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds reduces effectiveness and can increase frustration.

 

• Without explicit modeling and immediate, precise feedback, the routine can devolve into kids “speed reading” errors multiple times, automating inaccurate habits. link

 

 

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

---

• Don’t have one student read while everyone else passively waits.

 

• Don’t force struggling readers to read aloud in front of peers with little support; round-robin formats increase anxiety and can model dysfluent reading for the whole group.

 

• Don’t treat repeated reading as “everyone reads the same paragraph once around the circle”; true repeated reading requires multiple reads by the same student of the same text.

 

• Don’t default to grade-level core text for all students in intervention; fluency work should be on passages students can read with high but not perfect accuracy (roughly 85–95%).

 

• Don’t time students, record a number, and then move on with no error correction.

 

• Don’t ignore expression, phrasing, and punctuation.

 

• Don’t keep using repeated reading when a student’s main issue is foundational decoding.

 

• High-quality practice (appropriate text, feedback, clear goals) matters more than sheer number of rereads.

 

• Don’t make the routine so long or monotonous that students dread it.

 

• Noticing and celebrating specific growth keeps them invested.  link