Re-reading: building reading comprehension skills

Re-reading – reading a text for a second or third time (or more) in order to develop a better understanding.

We all know that reading something a second time is very effective. Re-reading is when a person reads a text for the second or third time (or even more if necessary). Students become more familiar and comfortable with a text with each reading (provided they have direction and are actively reading – not passively reading). Re-reading is an effective comprehension strategy for all ages, including both struggling and advanced readers. Just like watching a film for the second time, students are more likely to notice additional details, to make more connections, to have higher recall and to enjoy a higher level of understanding (the text ‘makes sense’). More challenging aspects of a text (such as intertwining themes) can become clearer with multiple exposures.

Re-reading is an effective comprehension strategy for all ages, including both struggling and advanced readers.

Re-reading techniques can be verbal or silent; individual, pair, group or whole-of-class; slow-, normal- or fast- paced; independent, guided or shared. One method is for the teacher to first read a passage to the class, followed by students reading the same passage silently, and finally the students read the passage aloud to each other. Re-reading activities should focus on short passages so students can more easily become familiar with the text. A primary school class might read a newspaper article of 200-300 words. A high school class might read a longer passage from a bigger text. Teachers often use re-reading as a revision activity and space these readings out over time. For example, a student might be required to read a chapter at home the night before an individual reading in class. The same passage is revisited a few weeks later.

Teachers often use re-reading as a revision activity and space these readings out over time.

Teachers who utilise this strategy regularly have students re-read a short text 2, 3 or 4 times in a single lesson. Each reading has a specific purpose and is followed by an activity such as a discussion, peer questioning or a short writing activity. A simple 60-minute repeated reading lesson structure for a year 4-10 English class may be as follows:

• introduction and linking to previous knowledge (5 minutes)
• discussion and questioning – predictions, cues, skimming, KWL charts (10 minutes)
• first read for general understanding (5 minutes)
• discussion – were predictions correct? Were there new words? What were the main points? What do we still not know? (5 minutes)
• second reading (which may involve notes or underlining) (3 minutes)
• complete graphic organiser (timeline, KWL etc. – volunteers to present to class or draw on board) (12 minutes)
• third reading (2 minutes), add 3-4 details to your KWL (3 minutes)
• rapid fire questioning activity (Bloom’s taxonomy, critical literacy, language development) (3 minutes)
• writing-to-learn or pair activity (7 minutes, including instructions) or explicit language instruction (grammar, spelling, punctuation)
• conclusion/review (metacognitive discussion – purpose of re-reading, real-life examples, what you learned from each reading, new words/punctuation/grammar/structure) (5 minutes).