any suggestions?

[Marty D]

Ok, let me begin by saying that I am sorry to keep coming on here asking for help, but you ladies are just so good at helping! My oldest son is currently reading the emerging readers, and I am very pleased with his progress. He is doing so well, that i am finding that we are having to skip over some of the easier readers because they are just too easy. I am planning on starting DITHR after Christmas if we continue not to hit any road blocks. The only problem I am having is that he is skipping words. Most of the time they are small words like "so" or "and", and many times the sentences are very understandable without the word. A few times he will actually leave out a whole group of words. He has great comprehension, and always knows exactly what he reads when I quiz him. Normally, I just point under the word(s) he missed, and he will go back and read them. They are not words he is having trouble with, it is just like he does not notice they are there, or maybe he just reads them on the run LOL.

Does anyone else have this problem with their child? If so, is there a way to fix it, or is it something that I should not make a big deal about? Just wondering.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Kathleen]

I don't have any suggestions, but my 8 yo does the same thing. He's reading well, but he'll also sometimes substitute one of those "connecting words" like - and, of, a, the, this, etc. - for another one. The sentence almost always keeps the correct meaning. If he has a big stretch like that, I'll say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa...we need to go back. Try that again and be careful to read the words that are there." I hate to interrupt him too much. I think it's something that will improve with more reading out loud.

I'll be anxious for some experienced advice, too.
Kathleen

[MamaBear23Cubs]

It must be a 8 yo thing. My DD does it also when she is reading out loud to me. It drives me nuts but I have done it too when reading outloud to all of them. I just figure it's a read out loud thing and everyone does it. I had her read the ones that were easy for her, we just read them quicker. I just liked the books and wanted to hear her read.

[Tansy]

Mine does this with periods... skips them all the time. But I'm a stickler since her comprehension is nil....
when she finishes the sentence I make her re read that sentence. All of your children are most likely not even reading the words in their brain... its skipping them.
Maybe their smarter than the rest of us and they realize they are pretty insignificant in our language. ROFL
But since the author put the words there and OR is an important word to read... I make my DD re read the sentence. But i don't interupted mid sentence.

[Carrie]

Marty,

This is pretty common once kiddos get to be faster readers. They love to blow right by those little words (and periods too)! If kiddos begin doing it quite often, then it's a good idea to have them run their finger under the words as they read them to make sure they get every one. Kiddos usually don't enjoy this, and will often do a more careful job of reading in order to NOT have to put their finger under the words as they read.

If it's affecting their comprehension, I would make them go back and reread the sentence too. Or, I would reread the sentence correctly aloud after them, saying..." Did you mean.....?" Then, my kiddos usually say, "What did I say?" and I tell them. This also helps them "listen" to themselves while reading aloud.

Being a good oral reader is a new skill to be learned just like reading silently. It takes time to develop the habit.

Blessings,
Carrie