My child skips/omits words while reading!
Omissions can lead to reduced comprehension and are usually caused by
- a ‘skill deficiency’ such as weak phoneme awareness
- a ‘skill deficiency’ such as inadequate decoding skills under lied by weak phoneme awareness
- reading too rapidly or carelessly which is a ‘reading efficiency skill’ issue
TIPS FOR WHAT TO DO:
- Making an immediate correction is the first step toward ‘breaking the habit’.
- Ask your child to pronounce any words omitted after he has read the sentence. If he still does not know the word then it probably is a skill deficiency in decoding or phoneme awareness BUT if your child knows the word then it is a reading efficiency skill.
Tell your child:
- “You are going to read back to them what you heard them just read. Ask them to point to each word as you read.” [Parents, do not forget to skip over the word or words omitted and see if your child recognizes this. IF THEY CAN’T TELL YOU THOSE OMITTED WORDS THEY IDENTIFIED, THEN IT POINTS BACK TO DECODING AND/OR PHONEME AWARENSS INSUFFICIENCIES.
- Have your child POINT to EACH WORD as they read. To keep them from pointing to words ahead of actual word being read—ask them to PICK UP their finger and then bring it down on each word as it is read.
- OFFER A STICKER REWARD to reinforce accuracy every time your child reads either a sentence, paragraph, or page perfectly. Let them know in advance of reading to you that they will get a reward for accurate word, sentence, or page reading and identify the section that will be used.
- Tape record your child as they read. Play it back and have them point to the words as they listen to themselves OR have them circle all the words they omitted and discuss with them why it is important not to omit as this may not allow them to fully comprehend/understand the story.
- For younger children, have them underline or trace over the first letter of each word omitted. Reread. Discontinue this as soon as the child stops making omissions.
Resources: Locating and Correcting Reading Difficulties by James L. Shanker
Reading Difficulties by Guy L. Bond and Miles A. Tinker
My child skips/omits words while reading! was first published on NutsAboutReading.com.
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