From our Literacy Specialist
The Value of Repeated Reading
Did you know that several areas of our brains are involved in the process of reading?
As we’ve explored before, learning to read is no small feat. Our young learners are essentially building a complex network of connections between spoken sounds, the visual patterns of letters, and the meaning centres of their brains. These pathways don’t form naturally; they require lots of practice because reading is not something humans have evolved to do automatically!
Here are two videos if you’d like to learn more:
Longer scientific explanation - 4 minutes
Traditionally, many of us remember the “new book every day” approach. While exciting, this practice can sometimes overlook the benefits of repetition. Each day, early readers are processing an incredible amount of new information and working hard to apply what they’ve learned. They’re literally rewiring their brains - a remarkable but demanding task. Understandably, mastering these skills often takes more than one attempt.
Why repetition matters:When children revisit the same words and sentence structures in a familiar text, they strengthen the connections between sounds, letters and meaning. This repeated exposure supports long-term memory, helping words become automatic and freeing up cognitive energy for fluency and expression. We’re not aiming for memorisation without looking, but we do want students to feel more confident and engaged with the text each time.
So, instead of always rushing to a new book, consider encouraging your child to read the same text a couple of times - either over a few days or even more than once in the same sitting. Every extra opportunity adds up, creating strong pathways that eventually make reading as effortless as riding a bike!
Hats off to all our incredible young readers who are taking on this huge challenge. Reading is an amazing skill, and at RNPS, we’re proud of the effort and commitment our students put in every day.