Repeated Reading? Why?

1. Repeated Reading of Decodable Texts

Why it works: There’s a common misconception that students should read a book or passage once and move on. But fluency is built through repetition. Each time a student revisits a text, they strengthen word recognition, reinforce phonics patterns, and improve rate and prosody.

Reading a text once builds familiarity. Reading it again builds fluency.

How to use it:

• Choose a short, decodable passages aligned with your phonics instruction. Decodable means words that your child can sound out with the sounds they have learned.

• Model fluent reading first, emphasizing phrasing and expression; that means you read the passage first with your own flair.  Make it fun.  We model it first because this is about watching and copying.  This is not a test to see if your child knows the words, this is practice.

• Invite students to read it multiple times over the week—independently, chorally, or with a partner. You'd be surprised how many times a child needs to read the same passage or story to get it right.  Every time they read the same story builds those automatic brain connections.

• Track progress with timers, highlight target words, or set fluency goals. Make a game of it.

🌟 Fluency Tip: Repetition increases exposure—and the more times a student sees a word, the more likely they are to read it automatically. That’s how we build fluency.