What Should I Say When They Get Stuck on a Word?

Dr. Kathleen J. Brown

University of Utah Reading Clinic

brown@ed.utah.edu

801-265-3951

www.ed.utah.edu/uurc/

Guidelines for Educators & Parents

Reading = Decoding X Comprehension

• Decoding for Expert Readers is Automatic

– accurate

– fast

– effortless

• Comprehension for Expert Readers is both Automatic & Strategic

– knowledgeable

– flexible

– persistent

(Adams, 1990; Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001)

NOT strategic!!!NOT strategic!!!

Effortful!!Effortful!!

Take This to the Bank:

• Good readers take in almost every word on the page. They recognize words at sight. With an unfamiliar word, they use spelling patterns to quickly chunk the word.

• Poor readers rely on context.

Adams, 1990, Perfetti & Lesgold, 1979; Rayner & Pollatsek, 1987; Stanovich & Stanovich, 1995

He had never seen dogs fight as these wxxxish cxxxxxxxx fxxxxt, and his first exxxxxxxxx txxxxt him an unfxxxxxxxble lxxxxx. It is true, it was a vixxxxxxx exxxxxxxxx, else he would not have lived to prxxit by it. Cxxxx was the vxxxxx. They were camped near the log store, where she, in her friendxx way, made adxxxxxx to a husky dog the size of a full-xxxxx wolf, thxxxx not half so large as xhe. Thxxx was no wxxxing, only a leap in like a flash, a metxx clip of teeth, a leap out exxxxly swift, and Cxxxx’s face was ripped open from eye to jaw.

When I walked into the Hall of Mirrors, I saw phantasmagoria happen with my own body.

“Kathleen,” my husband said, “No one would ever accuse you of being breviloquent!”

When discussing the use of context, consider these issues separately:

• What do good readers do to identify the word?

2. What do good readers do to figure out the meaning of the word?

black green black

green red green

black black red

red red blue

blue blue

red black

black green

green blue

red green

Representations in Memory

• phonological /bat/

• semantic baseball & flying mammal &

• ...with instruction and practice......with instruction and practice...

• --> orthographic bxx --> bxt --> bat(Adams, 1990; Ehri, 2005; Rayner et al., 2001)

Word Recognition Goals for Young Readers:

• 1. Identify an increasing number of words automatically—at sight.

• 2. Decode unfamiliar words by analogy (“chunks”) from words and patterns they know automatically.

• 3. Check if the word they generated makes sense. Adjust if necessary.

Inverse Relationship <--> Being Strategic & Being Automatic

• If the word pops out of her mouth at sight:– it’s automatic– NO NEED to be strategic!

• If the word doesn’t pop out of her mouth at sight:– not yet automatic

• Why?– not yet fully represented in memory

• Enter the need to be strategic.

If She Needs To Be Strategic...

• Different strategies are more effective for different words at different points in development.

• So, we need to suggest the most effective strategy

• Ask her do as much work as possible without bogging the reading down.

You Have 20 Distraction-Free Minutes to Listen to Her Read

Aloud...

Text MUST Be on Instructional Level!!!!!

• Needs to be at least 93% accurate with:

• Primer - at least 30 wpm• End G1 - at least 40 wpm• Mid G2 – at least 60 wpm• End G2 - at least 80 wpm• Mid G3 - at least 80 wpm• End G3 – at least 100 wpm

(Good, Gruba & Kaminski, 2002; UURC, 2005)

OK! So, She’s Reading Along & She Makes a Mistake on a

Word...

What Should I Do?

What NOT To Do...

• Avoid: immediate twitch, squeak, & point!

• Avoid saying, “You know that word! you just read it a few minutes ago!”

• Avoid just giving her the word.

• Avoid cueing her to guess from just the picture.

Try this...

• Let her finish the phrase/sentence. Does she self-correct?.

• If she does, just say, “Good fixing!”

• If not, say, “Something tricked you.” Then, point your pencil at the beginning of the phrase or sentence and say, “Start here…”

OK! She Makes the Same Mistake…Or, She’s Stuck...

• Put your pencil point just above the word and quickly ask yourself 2 questions:

• What kind of word is this?

• What does she know about words like this?

Your answers can help you be effective...

Types of Words

• ten, jump, branch

• the, of, who, enough

• lake, barn, tail

• hopped, pretest, provoke, incandescent

• Closed syllables

• Irregular

• Vowel patterns

• Words with affixes and polysyllabic words

(Moats, 2000; Morris, 2005; UURC, 2006; Wilson, 2006)

Choose the Best Strategy for That Word!

• ten, jump, branch

• the, of, who, enough

• lake, barn, tail

• hopped, pretest, provoke, incandescent

• blend (sound it out)

• get 1st sound; provide

• pattern? sound?

• use thumb…find vowels & break up

(Brown, 2003)

“I’m going fishing,”

said Father Bear.

“I like fishing, too,”

said Baby Bear.

I will go with you

and help you.”

For earlyG1 to midG1 readers:

1. If the word is short & blendable, let him sound it out.

2. If not, point to first letter and ask: “Sound?”

3. Then, give the word and move on.

One hot summer day

Frog and Toad sat by the pond.

“I wish we had some sweet, cold

ice cream,” said Frog.

“What a good idea,” said Toad.

“Wait right here, Frog.

I will be back soon.”

He bought two big ice-cream cones.

For endG1 to endG2 readers

1. Is the word blendable?

2. If not, does he know that vowel pattern? If so, focus on pattern w/pencil.

3. If not, prompt for first sound, then tell him the word.

Joe sat on a bench in front of the shop where people can sell their belongings. A string of blue beads was clutched tightly in his hands. He felt worried because it was difficult to know what to do.

“Grandfather told me never to sell these beads because they would bring me good fortune and good health.

For earlyG3 readers & on

1. One syllable? Prompt to blend or look at vowel pattern.

2. >1 syllable? Use your thumb to help break up the word

3. Sign up with UURC for training!

Guidelines to Keep in Mind:

• If she makes > 1-2 mistakes per every ten words, the text is too hard. Get rid of it!

• Prompt up to 3x per mistake. No luck? Tell her the word and move on.

• Make memorable & practice irregular, high frequency words – word bank - 2, 2, & 2– make-n-break

Guidelines to Keep in Mind:

• Reading instruction is necessary--especially for at-risk and struggling readers.

• Reading practice is necessary--especially for at-risk and struggling readers.

• To “close the gap,” these readers MUST “consume” text---lots of it--every day.