At Great Leaps Tutoring, we often hear from parents who wonder why their child is reading the same exercise over and over. It may seem simple, even repetitive, but there’s a powerful reason behind it, and research shows it works. Repeated reading is one of the most effective ways to help children improve their fluency, which means reading with accuracy, speed, and expression. When we combine that practice with real-time corrections and modeling of fluent reading (where a skilled tutor reads a selection from the exercise first and then your child reads it independently) the gains are even stronger.
So what’s really happening when students read the same text several times? One important piece is that fluency isn’t just about recognizing words. It’s about helping the brain become quicker and more automatic at decoding words so your child can focus on meaning instead of struggling through every single word. A large body of research shows that students who engage in repeated reading tend to increase not only how quickly they read but also how accurately they do it. This kind of practice has helped struggling readers improve their word recognition and overall reading fluency in both classroom settings and tutoring contexts. Source
Repeated reading works for another very practical reason: it builds familiarity. When a child rereads the same passage, fewer new words and sentence patterns slow them down. That repetition gives your child’s brain a chance to process patterns more efficiently. Over time, the need to stop and decode individual words decreases and fluency rises—the pace smooths out and understanding improves. In some studies where students read texts multiple times, researchers have even observed measurable improvements in reading rate and comprehension scores after just a few weeks of practice. Source
But fluency practice alone isn’t enough. The way repeated reading is done matters critically. Immediate feedback and modeling, when an instructor shows how the passage should sound first, sharpen the effect. When your child hears fluent reading paired with supportive correction of mistakes, the brain doesn’t just get more practice; it gets guided practice. Research has shown that repeated reading combined with error correction leads to better outcomes than repeated reading alone because your child isn’t just repeating mistakes—he or she is building accurate habits. WKU TopScholar
Parents often ask whether this kind of practice improves more than just speed. The answer is yes. Improved fluency supports comprehension because when your child becomes smoother and faster at reading individual words, they can spend more of their mental energy on what the text actually means rather than on sounding out each word. This link between fluency and overall understanding is why repeated reading is used widely in schools and interventions for readers of all ages. LINCS
At Great Leaps Tutoring, we include repeated reading in a way that keeps motivation high, not dull or mechanical. We have carefully written and organized each exercise in all three sections, and we always start slightly below their instructional reading level so that success comes early and builds confidence. Tutors hep your child practice through modeling a carefully chosen segment from the exercise, and make every step feel like progress rather than punishment. By making this process rewarding and engaging we help students build the skills they need without turning reading into a chore.
Reading fluently doesn’t just make homework easier. It opens the door to greater confidence, stronger comprehension, and a lifelong love of books. And repeated reading, when done the right way with direct instruction, is one of the simplest, most research-backed ways to help your child get there.
