Resource Centre
New Arrivals
The Importance of Re-reading Books
In one of my classes this week, a student happily shared with me the book he was reading. He was so excited to be reading this book for the third time because it was one of his favourites.
I was able to speak to one of our Year 3 students Isabelle Townrow about why she likes re-reading books over and over again. I asked her the following questions:
What are some of your favorite books to reread?
StarWars, Dork Diaries, Diary of a Minecraft Zombie.
Why do you enjoy reading books you have already read?
There are books in the library that I have read and no longer enjoy reading whereas there are books I love to reread such as StarWars, Dork Diaries and Diary of a Minecraft. I love reading these books again because the adventures are exciting and it allows me to relive my favorite parts.
As we spoke about “re-living her favorite story parts”, Isabelle’s face lit up. It is a great pleasure to see our young people having such strong connections with books and stories.
After having this conversation with Isabelle, I have reflected on what we witness in the Resource Centre on a daily basis, which is students visiting our space to locate new or familiar books. This enables them to escape their everyday world whilst discovering new friends or rediscovering old friends. It is such a privilege to be a part of.
This event takes me back to a conversation I had with a parent earlier this year. She was concerned that a child in senior primary was rereading her favorite books from the last few years. She viewed this as a sign that her child was not moving forward with her reading i.e. reading age appropriate and more challenging books.
My answer to this was that this certainly isn’t a concern because this is one way that she can revisit old friends in familiar places which in turn is providing a sense of “safety and security”(YKNR Podcast, 2021, Episode 9).
When someone is not feeling safe and secure in their own world, rereading books can establish or reinforce this feeling. This parent was relieved upon this and said that it made sense to her due to what was happening in the world around us.
Books offer a sense of comfort and stability because the story never changes” (YKNR Podcast, 2021, Episode 9). The other reason we encourage students to reread books at different stages of their lives, is so that new perspectives based on our growing life experiences can be developed. It also “fills the gap” until readers find their new favourites.
From an educational perspective, rereading books is something I have always recommended for students no matter what age or stage of their learning they are at because it allows them to develop rhythm, fluency and confidence in their own reading ability. Repeated reading allows the learner to take in new details as they no longer have to concentrate on the mechanics of reading. When a text is repeatedly read, it reduces the reader's cognitive load allowing for a deeper understanding of the text to occur.
Some background reading and listening:
Your Kid's Next Read (2021) YKNR 009: Should I worry about re-reading?, Spotify. Your Kid's Next Read. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7zGFJ4tQetxfxg9pj5DfYH?si=6bfc83ffd9654e65 (Accessed: November 22, 2022).
Rodriguez, J. (2021)6 benefits of rereading books (over...and over) for kids (no date) The Benefits of Rereading Books. Available at: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/benefits-rereading-books.html (Accessed: November 21, 2022).
Bradshaw, J. (2022) 8 benefits of rereading for children, Everyday Reading. Available at: https://everyday-reading.com/8-benefits-of-rereading-for-children/ (Accessed: November 21, 2022).
Corneal, D.A. (2019) Why reading the same book repeatedly is good for kids (even if it drives you nuts), Brightly. Brightly. Available at: https://www.readbrightly.com/why-reading-the-same-book-repeatedly-is-good-for-kids/ (Accessed: November 21, 2022).
The Business of Books
As we come to the end of the year we are asking you to locate any books your son or daughter may have at home that has a Moama Anglican Grammar Barcode on it, be returned at your earliest convenience. On the 5th of December, we will be making adjustments to the borrowing for the last 2 weeks of school. Instead of ceasing borrowing as we have done in the past 2 years students will be allowed 1 book at a time, so if they have a book out they will not be able to borrow any other books until the outstanding one is returned. This adjustment has been put into place to allow us to bring the collection back together and start setting up for the beginning of 2023.
It is exciting to say that we have begun our first secondary book club in the last 3 years. I am excited about this as are our first members.
The first book that was chosen was “The Thursday Murder Club” by Richard Osman. Students received their copies in our first official catch up .
We are sourcing books for our group from the Campaspe Library’s Book Club collection.
Your help is needed!
We are looking to forward planning for 2023:
- Our first display for 2023
This may sound very early, but I am making plans for the first RC display next year.
As part of Library Lovers Month in February our plan is to create a display that utilizes photographs of students, parents and other family members:
1. Enjoying the pastime of reading in a variety of different locations i.e. at the beach, sitting in a tree, lounging on the couch.
2. A favourite book!
As per the examples below we were hoping to put a display together that uses the photos you provide that says” We Love(heart) Books”.
Ms Height, Mrs Jepson and Ms O’Neill.
Resource Centre Team
Important details
Opening Hours:
Monday-Thursday 8.30am to 4.30pm
Friday 8.30am to 4.00pm
Borrowing and Returns
Students may borrow and return books before school, recess, lunch time and after school. Primary School students also have the chance to borrow books during their fortnightly Library lessons.
Renewals
Students are able to re-borrow books for an additional two weeks by speaking to staff at the Library Circulation Desk. If further borrowing is requested after this, students are required to bring their book with them to allow the staff to sight the book. In addition, students can renew their book/s by emailing the Library.
Requests
If your child would like to borrow a specific book and the title is not included in our current catalogue, we will add this to our purchase wish-list.
Overdue notices
If you receive an overdue notice, then the book/s are either overdue, or there is a chance that the books may been processed through our system after the email was sent, so we encourage all parents to follow up any issues by emailing the Resource Centre at library@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au
If you have any other enquiries, issues or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us via phone by ringing the main office or via email address library@moamagrammar.nsw.edu.au