[Word skipping or guessing]

the pattern seems to be:

1) early on read word for word

2) recognize "whole words" from frequency, if the same word shows up on the same page it's read much faster the 2nd time (see this in my Kr who's almost done with 100EL)

3) guess words based on context, often badly :D

4) reading fluency and voraciousness

 

An adult tends to read several words at a time (focussing on one, but the others are being processed based on shape/length/context) and skip the "a" "the" etc. We guess and test. We skim.

 

 

This thread (and the other) are fascinating to me since DD(8) is struggling with reading and dyslexia has been suggested. Here is a short list of some "signs" of dyslexia in reading:

 

 

• Substitutes similar-looking words, even if it changes the meaning of the sentence, such as sunrise for surprise, house for horse, while for white, wanting for walking

• When reading a story or a sentence, substitutes a word that means the same thing but doesn't look at all similar, such as trip for journey, fast for speed, or cry for weep

• Misreads, omits, or even adds small function words, such as an, a, from, the, to, were, are, of

 

What's interesting to me is how reading these 2 threads, it almost sounds as if everybody really hits the stage of guessing on context/first and last letters AND that is actually part of even a excellent reader's "tools". And many people have probably always omitted the small function words but just understand that you can't do that ALOUD. But some people make the #4 jump (perhaps really to "chunking the words") but others, for some reason, can't make that jump.

 

DD's struggle learning phonics has been a struggle for me too because even though I was an early and voracious reader, I don't believe I ever really learned phonics, or if I did it's more of a subconscious thing. Reading the "harder" phonemes in isolation is almost impossible for me. With a nonsense word I have a much easier time. I can sound out a "new" word (although English being the way it is, sounding out does NOT mean correct pronunciation) but it seems I'm not using these specific letters making X phoneme but some more chunking type thing - these letters WITH those letters = probably this sound.

 

Also some dyslexic websites talk about how dylexics can often "get by" on memorization until they're in 3rd/4th grade when the words get harder and then they NEED the phonics - yet often when DD struggles with a word I can TELL that she's using A correct phoneme just not THE correct one for THAT word- so she IS applying the phonemic rules she's been taught. It seems more like she is missing a rule that is not usually explicitly taught. The one that says - with THIS phoneme combination - THIS sound is more likely. And there IS a lot of memorization in reading - for this word it's not THAT more likely sound but THIS unlikely sound. How do I know that - just because I know that's how this word is pronounced? that seems like memorization to me.

 

Anyway, we currently going through the Abcedarian B curriculum, which from my reading, seems to be trying to push them in the right direction to make that last non-explicit chunking jump. Also got the later "I see Sam" readers (based on suggestions on the abecedarian yahoo group) to have more specific reading practice using only decodable words. I think of it as giving her lots of practice with specific phoneme combinations in semi-isolation (NO non conforming words). Too early to tell if it will help or not though. :tongue_smilie:

 

LL

["Roxanne" as a girl's name ...]

While that's cute...it reminds me of a dogs name.

 

We named DD after one of my childhood dogs AND DH's Mom :lol: It has been like people suggested, I quickly moved past the childhood association and don't even think of the dog anymore (did at very first though).

 

That said, Roxanne was DH's top choice for a girl's name and I said NO WAY - because I do think of the song and the obnoxious way it is said in the song - the song I had sung to me (for my name) was similarly obnoxious and I wouldn't inflict that on a child. We even asked a teenage relation what he thought when he heard the name and he DID reply with that song.

 

LL