Repeated reading at home: the loo poster that builds fluency

With repeated reading, your child reads one short text aloud a few times over several days before moving on to the next. With every go the words come more easily, and the reading starts to sound like a story. You listen, and a loo poster makes that a daily habit.

Fabliko is a set of short reading stories in which your child is the hero, each one matched to their level (UK book bands, US guided reading levels or Dutch AVI). Read them together on screen, or print one at home to hang in the loo. Fabliko Plus adds a fold-up booklet and word cards of the same story.

What does repeated reading mean?

It is fluency practice: reading accurately, at a comfortable pace and with expression, so your child has room left to follow the story.

The first time, your child sounds a word out. A few readings later, they know it at a glance. Every reread adds more of those instant words, so the next reading runs more smoothly. That is why the school reading book often comes home for a whole week. If it feels easy by Thursday, it has done its job. In the US, the Common Core standards for first and second grade say it outright: children read aloud accurately, at a suitable pace and with expression “on successive readings”.

Does rereading the same book help?

Yes, especially when your child reads it aloud to someone. In a large American research review, reading a text aloud more than once with help or feedback (from a parent, a teacher or another child) gave a moderate boost to word reading, fluency and understanding. The gain held for typical readers until at least Year 5 (fourth grade), and for children who struggle with reading all the way into secondary school. For reading silently on their own, the review found no proof that it helps.

Studies of children who find reading hard add three things: hearing a fluent reader go first helped, easier texts brought bigger gains, and four or more readings of the same passage worked best. Their biggest step forward was on the practised text itself, with a smaller but real gain on new ones.

So keep other books going too, for new words and ideas. And leave the stopwatch in the drawer: a child can only read as fast as they can decode.

Why the loo, of all places?

The loo (bathroom) makes a good reading spot. Several times a day your child spends a minute or two in there, with nothing on a screen to pull them away. And a page on the wall doesn’t look like homework.

The poster cannot do it alone, though. Stay within earshot, perhaps outside a door left ajar, and let your child read to you, since reading aloud with someone who helps is how the research tested it.

What’s on the Fabliko poster?

With a free account you can print the poster on A4 (US Letter in the US). It carries the whole story, with a picture of your child as the hero. The last sheet ends with a row called “I read it!”: seven circles, Monday to Sunday.

On the first bands (Pink, Red, Yellow) and guided reading levels A/B to E/F, the print is as big as it gets and every sentence has its own line. A longer story goes over more sheets, so the letters never get smaller than the level needs. If you’re not sure of the level, see book bands explained or guided reading levels by grade.

In Reception and Year 1, keep the school phonics book going, as it matches the sounds your child has learnt. A Fabliko story follows a reading level rather than a phonics programme, so the poster comes in addition, not instead.

A week of rereading, day by day

Monday: read the whole story to your child first, so they know how it ought to sound. Then take turns sentence by sentence, and chat about the picture.

Tuesday to Thursday: once a day, your child reads you the full story. If a word slips, pause and give them a moment to catch it. If they don’t, help them sound it out or tell them a very tricky word, then let them read the whole sentence again.

Friday: your child reads it to a new listener, such as a grandparent, a teddy or the dog. At the weekend you choose a new story. Plus members can print that week’s story as a fold-up booklet and word cards too; see pricing.

That makes at least four readings by your child, in line with what worked best in the research.

When is it time to talk to school?

Have a word with the class teacher if your child still reads word by word after a few weeks on easy stories, or if even a short, familiar story stays hard work. In England the next step is usually the school’s SENCo; in the US, ask whether the school screens reading and what extra help it offers. And if your child trips over more than roughly one word in every ten, the story is too hard for this kind of practice, so step down to an easier one.

FAQ

How often should my child reread one story?

Four or more readings brought the biggest gains in research on children who find reading hard, and a week of daily reading gets there easily. If the story sounds smooth before Friday, you can move on early.

Isn’t my child just memorising it?

Partly, and that’s fine. Children who find reading hard also read new texts more smoothly after this practice, though the gain was smaller. That is why the story changes each week and other books keep going.

Out loud or in their head?

Out loud, with you listening. In the studies, children read to a person who helped them along; nothing shows that reading silently by themselves makes them more fluent.

Should I use a timer?

No. Being fluent means getting the words right and making them sound like speech, not racing. A child who is still decoding gains nothing from being hurried.

Sources

• National Reading Panel (2000), Report of the subgroups, chapter 3: Fluency
• What Works Clearinghouse (2016), Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade
• Department for Education (2023), The reading framework
• Education Endowment Foundation, Reading fluency glossary
• Education Endowment Foundation, Reading fluency misconceptions
• Common Core State Standards, Reading: Foundational Skills, Grade 1
• Lee & Yoon (2017), meta-analysis of repeated reading, Journal of Learning Disabilities 50(2), 213-224 (ASHA summary)
• Stevens, Walker & Vaughn (2017), Journal of Learning Disabilities 50(5), 576-590