Over and Over and OVER Again
By Mark W.F. Condon, Unite for Literacy vice president
Abundant research studies exist about the fabulous benefits of repeatedly and expressively reading any well-chosen book to children. Good teachers know and use this tactic to promote fluent reading, grow vocabulary, engender deep comprehension, and encourage rich conversation.
However, this practice, that research and teachers support, sometimes drives many well-intentioned parents crazy. When a child asks for a book to be read several times at a sitting and/or several times a day for weeks on end, parents’ eyes may glaze over as they begin to robotically recite the chosen book by memory.
Four-year-old Tyler fell in love with a version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” that is deemed as less-than-quality literature. Every night, as he settled down for this bedtime read, he would select several books and there in the pile would be “the Jack book,” with Jack beaming up at his parents, wearing his little medieval looking, feather adorned hat.
It was the perfect bedtime read because it led directly to heavy-lidded drowsiness. The trouble was that it was mom and dad who were dozing off.
To spice things up a bit for Tyler’s parents, they would alter the tale or the wording on some pages. Being a sharp little guy, Tyler would immediately respond, “It doesn’t say that!” And when they would try to skip pages, hoping to finish it more quickly, he would call their bluff—“No wait! You missed a page!”
His parents would wonder, “What on Earth is the fascination with this mediocre book?!” Parents who read daily to their children know the “chosen” book does not have to be great literature to become their favorite. In this case, Tyler’s “Jack book” was a cute version of a delightful fairy tale…but not THAT cute! Their sweet son had the opposite response of course.
These kinds of books become kids’ top choices because they are studying them while we read them aloud. They study words, pages, letters, illustrations, fluent language, vocabulary, characters, and adults’ reactions to the story’s events. Typically little ones cannot articulate what they are doing, but research indicates that each time children experience their “favorite” book, they are likely to become focused upon something new about which they have an interest or question. In short, while it may seem boring and repetitive to adults because we adults are experiencing the same story over and over ad nauseam, to children, each reading is a new adventure into literacy learning.
Sometimes the re-reading helps them review an impression they have. For example, “Dad says the same thing every time when we get to this page. I wonder if he will do that again tonight.”
Sometimes it is to verify it is not just some weirdness of Daddy. “Hmmm, Mommy says the same thing when we get to this page. What does THAT mean?”
Sometimes, unexpectedly, it is to focus on items that to adults seem like minutia. “Why are there numbers in the corner of every page?”
Sometimes it feels like they are learning to read, like when they point to a letter and say, “My name starts like that.”
After the gazillionth read of “Jack and the Beanstalk”, Tyler’s folks finally were able to engage Tyler in joining in on the reading. They would read the first part of a sentence and then pause, and he would supply the rest. He loved that game, and his eventual memorization of the book became the basis for doing very sophisticated reading-like behavior and even re-telling the story verbatim. Tyler is 48 now. He is a proficient, fluent, and avid reader.
The moral of this story is: Embrace the reading and re-reading of books as a clear indication that children may very well be taking it upon themselves to learn to read. And rest assured that learning to read occurs in much the same way that learning to do anything else—by repetition. Whether it’s infants rocking back and forth on their knees, toddlers messing around with the piano, or preteens shooting baskets, they are experimenting, practicing, and enjoying getting better. They just may need us to help for a while by offering tips for improvement and lots of encouragement.