Read Like Us: Building Fluency Through Repeated Reading & Challenging Texts with Jake Downs & Chase Young

Episode 245 In this episode, Melissa and Lori are joined by researchers Jake Downs and Chase Young to discuss Read Like Us , a research-backed fluency routine designed to help students reread challenging texts with purpose. Jake and Chase share the findings from their recent study, explain how the routine works in real classrooms, and explore why fluency grows when students have multiple supported opportunities to read connected text. The conversation unpacks: what makes Read Like Us different from traditional repeated reading approaches, how wide reading fits alongside repeated reading, and why text choice plays such a critical role in fluency development. You’ll also hear why the study showed especially strong results for fourth-grade readers and how teachers can think about applying this work across grade levels. This episode offers both a clear explanation of the research and practical insights teachers can use as they plan fluency instruction that supports real reading where skills come together in text. Resources: Grab your Read Like Us Texts Research Article: "Promoting Fluency Through Challenge: Repeated Reading With Texts of Varying Complexity" Fluency Listening Guide Contact Chase Young at with your questions! If you’re enjoying Melissa & Lori Love Literacy , bring us to your school or event. We offer keynotes, presentations, and live podcast-style sessions focused on practical, science of reading–aligned strategies aligned to our podcast and book, The Literacy 50 . Email LiteracyPodcast@greatminds.org to learn more. Get free resources and updates at literacypodcast.com .

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Read Like Us: Building Fluency Through Repeated Reading & Challenging Texts with Jake Downs & Chase Young is an episode from Melissa and Lori Love Literacy by Supported by Great Minds .

This episode is 48:33 long.

This episode was published on Feb 6, 2026.

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