How to handle reader errors:

"What Do I Do After a Miscue?"
DO IN THIS ORDER!!!

by Dixie Lee Spiegel, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

1. Be quiet until the child has finished reading the entire sentence or even the whole page.
   Why? To give the child a chance to monitor for him/herself.
2. Say "Try that again"
   Why? To give the child a chance to monitor for him/herself.
3. Repeat what the child said. "You read, '.....'"
   Why? To give the child a third chance to monitor.
4. Ask the child if that makes sense.
   Why? To give the child another chance to monitor.
5. Ask the child "What word is giving you some trouble?"
   Why? To give the child practice in pinpointing the problem.
6. Ask "What strategies could you try?"
   Why? To remind the child to use strategies.
   To place the responsibility for selecting strategies on the child.
7. Ask "What other strategies could you try?"
   Why? To remind the child s/he has a set of strategies, not just one, to try.
   To place the responsibility for selecting strategies on the child.
8. If the child has not tried using context yet ("using the other words") suggest the
   context strategy.
   Why? Always start with meaning.
9. If that does not work, suggest the compare/contrast strategy ("What word does it look
   like that you know?")
   Why? After meaning, deal with large chunks of words.
10. If that does not work, suggest the child use phonics ("What sounds would you hear in
    this word?")
    Why? Phonics is the LAST system to try because it is not based in meaning and
    tears the reading apart the most.