Value of Rereading

I really liked that Sherrie mentioned the want and the need to reread a text again and again. I tell my students all the time that they should reread. The problem I run into is getting my students to see the benefit from it. My AP Lit students understand it and some even grasp it. Some will borrow copies of the novels and plays we read a month or two before the big test and reread them or at least sections of a text to further their understanding of the complexities within it. But I often struggle with it in my sophomore classes.

Now that I think about it, we could do that with other texts in the classroom. For a smaller piece, like a short story or a section in a science textbook, we could have them reread the entire thing for depth. For a larger piece, like a novel, we could have students reread a difficult chapter, scene, or paragraph for depth and clarity. I'm thinking of this with A Lesson before Dying in my sophomore classes. There is one chapter early on where Grant is talking to his former teacher, Matthew Antoine, about teaching. Antoine mentions the "blanket of ignorance" that has been laid over the quarter (think 1940's Louisiana). My students struggle with this, so we will reread the section, breaking it down to help them understand the connections within the section.

I also reread for pure enjoyment as well. I have read the Dragonlance Chronicles at least four times (all three books) and I've read other books over and over because I enjoy being in the worlds. Sure there are other books I want to read, but sometimes if I find myself thinking about a book I've read in the past, I will pick it up and read it again. I know that in time I will get to the other books, even if it is twenty years down the road! :)