Skipping lines while reading

[nature girl]

My DD6 is a fluent reader, but now that we're reading chapter books with smaller writing (still large, but a bit smaller than in ER books) she seems to lose track of where she is on the page at times, skipping a line every couple of pages. Is this typical, or could it be a sign of a tracking issue?

[OneStepAtATime]

Could be a sign of a tracking issue.  She could also just be kind of impatient and/or trying to adjust to the smaller print.  Could she use her finger to track or maybe an index card to keep her on the right line?  That might help for the time being.  

 

If it is a tracking issue, you might see if there is a reputable COVD recommended eye doctor in your area and see if they offer free or really low cost initial consultations or even preliminary developmental vision screenings.  Sometimes those doctors are booked months out so calling now and getting on the schedule might be a good idea.  You can always cancel later if her issues smooth out.

[nature girl]

Could be a sign of a tracking issue.  She could also just be kind of impatient and/or trying to adjust to the smaller print.  Could she use her finger to track or maybe an index card to keep her on the right line?  That might help for the time being.  

 

If it is a tracking issue, you might see if there is a reputable COVD recommended eye doctor in your area and see if they offer free or really low cost initial consultations or even preliminary developmental vision screenings.  Sometimes those doctors are booked months out so calling now and getting on the schedule might be a good idea.  You can always cancel later if her issues smooth out.

 

Yes, I've started doing that...but I don't want her to have to use that as a crutch forever, I'd like her to learn how to track without needing a finger, so I'm not sure how long to keep using it.

 

I thought the fact that she learned to read quickly and young, and became fluent easily, showed there were no vision issues, but she does at times have a hard time sounding out longer words (3 or 4 syllables), sometimes missing the middle syllable(s), so I do wonder if it could be a sign of something.

[OneStepAtATime]

Actually, many adults use a finger to track. Some people actually read much faster and more efficiently that way. It isn't a crutch but just a very useful tool if it helps keep a reader reading the right lines in an effective manner. She is really young. If using her finger helps her right now then why not keep her doing that for the time being? She will probably phase it out herself over time if she reaches a point where she no longer needs the finger guide.

[AggieMama]

You could always use a bookmark or a notecard for each line and move it as she reads.

[Stellalarella]

I can't answer the question about whether she has tracking problems, but I do know a best practice to ameliorate  is to have the student place a card in the line ABOVE the text she is reading, not below it.

 

I'm embarrassed to say I cannot remember which teacher told me to do this with my kids, but I know it works.

 

Also, I have two of my six  (they are 9 and 10 years old) whose eyes are in an adjustment period--sometimes their focusing mechanism goes wonky.  The optometrist says they will outgrow it.

 

 

 

 

[nature girl]

I can't answer the question about whether she has tracking problems, but I do know a best practice to ameliorate  is to have the student place a card in the line ABOVE the text she is reading, not below it.

 

Interesting, thanks! She's about to read to me now so I'll have her try it! :)

[ElizabethB]

A quote from Dr Hilde Mosse, I have this on my dyslexia page:

 

A folded piece of paper or, much better, an unlined card should be held above the line the child is reading, not beneath it. This is the so-called Cover Card Method of treating Linear Dyslexia. The reason for this position of the card is that it can steady the eyes, which have a tendency to wander above and not below the line being read, and it can connect the end of one line with the beginning of the next, thus indicating the return sweep and making it easier on the child's eyes. By blotting out all the text that has just been read, the cover card helps the child to concentrate on just that one line he is reading. By holding the card at a slant with the left corner slightly lower than the right, and by pushing it down while he reads, the child steadies his gaze and at the same time pushes his eyes from left to right and down via a correct return sweep from one line to the next. This is by far the simplest, cheapest, and most effective treatment for Linear Dyslexia.

[nature girl]

Interesting, thanks Elizabeth! Well that's a new term for me, linear dyslexia. I did a quick search and didn't find much info, but I'll have to look into it a bit more.

 

This afternoon she hated having the bookmark above, I think it confused her because she's used to reading above the line, but tomorrow I'll use a larger card to cover the rest of the page above, and see how she does after we've tried this consistently. I wonder if that would actually begin to treat the problem, or is just used as a way of getting around it?

 

Regardless, from responses it seems like this isn't typical, so this might actually be a sign of an issue. :(

[LibraryLover]

And also, she is 6. Could be a developmental issue.  She may be cognitively ready to read, but not quite there physically. Sometimes I'm with Piaget, Reggio, Finland +  on this. 

[reign]

I also think it could be an age thing. One reason you may not be getting more answers is that most six year olds aren't reading chapter books with little print. Reading large type and begging readers with few sentences is easier. My oldest had to use a card or her finger to read for several years. At six she loved the larger print chapter books. A Pippi Longstocking version illustrated by Lauren Child was her favorite! Oldest reads well without a card now. I feel Her attention issues affected her reading of small print books.

[Stellalarella]

Kids continue to flip letters, write in mirror image, etc. for a while. Six is still pretty young.   :)

 

Kids can go through periods where their eyes' ability to focus changes, like my boys.  

 

It's not an easy read, but if you can get "Reading in the Brain," by Deheane, I think it well demonstrates how complicated reading is for little ones.  Now that I have a better understanding of how people learn to read and how they read once they are fluent, I feel less anxious about my slower-to-learn readers and more resolved about continuing on with patient, careful instruction.  

 

I think  a good approach is to educate the educator first :) and then think about how best to teach the kiddo, which is slightly different from how we sometimes approach the bumps in the road--first worry, then a little internet googling which brings on a tinge of panic, then trying to get kiddo tested so we don't mess them up, then trying to find the right curriculum/technique to address the issue.  

 

It is hard with the oldest children, too, because unless we have previously been a classroom teacher, we just lack the experience of watching kids learn over time, each on their own time line.  Or at least that has certainly been a humbling experience for me.  :)

 

I think that skipping lines when a kid is six or seven or eight is part of the package of learning to read.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2016 by Stellalarella

[Stellalarella]

A quote from Dr Hilde Mosse, I have this on my dyslexia page:

 

A folded piece of paper or, much better, an unlined card should be held above the line the child is reading, not beneath it. This is the so-called Cover Card Method of treating Linear Dyslexia. The reason for this position of the card is that it can steady the eyes, which have a tendency to wander above and not below the line being read, and it can connect the end of one line with the beginning of the next, thus indicating the return sweep and making it easier on the child's eyes. By blotting out all the text that has just been read, the cover card helps the child to concentrate on just that one line he is reading. By holding the card at a slant with the left corner slightly lower than the right, and by pushing it down while he reads, the child steadies his gaze and at the same time pushes his eyes from left to right and down via a correct return sweep from one line to the next. This is by far the simplest, cheapest, and most effective treatment for Linear Dyslexia.

SO it was you that I got this advice from.  :)  And the "Reading in the Brain" book.

[Tanikit]

I used a ruler under the line of print for quite a long time with my eldest child who bounced around so much when reading that she could not keep her place - she was a very early reader though. Since age 7 she has not needed anything. My youngest (just turned 5) definitely still needs a line under the text and needs to use her finger as well. I allow her to read online books for the simple reason that I can increase the font size as she is not yet ready for very small print, but can handle books with more text on a page if it is big enough. Six is still small - lots of development happens during these years and tracking can be taught to some extent.

 

[tinkgumby]

My eye doctor helped my oldest son with this - he was constantly skipping entire lines of text, especially reading scripture (smaller print), and the doctor said his eyes weren't focusing at the same point.  It was corrected with glasses that he wore while reading for a while.  

 

From the eye doctor's blog:

http://visionsource-drmconte.com/2013/08/28/vision-motor-problems/

 

Vertical phoria will produce the following symptoms:

 

Does not like to read in the car while the car is moving

Does not like to sit in the back seat of a car

Has an aversion to being spun around

Loses their place while reading

Forgets what they read

Vertical phoria is usually an inherited trait in which one parent will have similar complaints as the child.  Vertical phoria is usually worse in males than females.  It does not effect visual acuity (clarity of vision); therefore, it is not detected by school screenings.

 

Some other visual motor problems include:

 

Convergence excess

Convergence insufficiency

Accommodative inflexibility

All of the above will cause the individual to tire easily while reading and decrease reading comprehension.

 

Patients with vertical phoria are treatable with vision training and corrective lenses.

 

The best correction for vertical phoria is a bifocal lens with a prism.  Most patients will respond quickly to the treatment and do not need the bifocal for long.

 

Both the patient and the parents easily note results from treatment.

 

- See more at: http://visionsource-drmconte.com/2013/08/28/vision-motor-problems/#sthash.SV9SfI05.dpuf

 

[Sahamamama]

All my girls read early and well, but only noticed this with my oldest. She did this at around age six, even though she hadn't done it at age four or five. Go figure. ;) I attributed it to a few things -- smaller print size, longer sentences and words, reading chapter books, her interest in moving along in the story, and her young age. She wanted to read faster! I remember thinking at the time that her intensity and eagerness may have had something to do with jumping from line to line. I never really knew why she did it.

 

Her vision seemed okay until she was around five, then suddenly we noticed that she was not seeing things far away. She ended up with a pretty strong prescription for glasses, and it was after this (a while afterwards) that I noticed the line jumping. Perhaps her eyes just grew or changed in some way? My other two girls were the same way -- seemingly fine until five years old, then BAM! Glasses. My parents said that I was the same way, too, except that I started needing glasses in first grade, so six.

 

We isolated single lines of text by cutting out a print-sized "window" from heavy cardstock, so the rest of the cardstock covered the text above and below the line she was reading. This seemed to help, and then we moved on to a simple, folded piece of plain white paper above the line she was reading. After a while, she seemed to outgrow her tendency to jump lines. We all still read aloud all the time, and I haven't noticed any of the girls doing this in years. I think we all do it a bit when we're tired, even the adults! HTH.

Edited March 16, 2016 by Sahamamama