Module 2: Instructional Challenge

Take a look at the following examples of children's dialect-based miscues while reading and the difference between the child's original response (OR) and expected response (ER). Then answer the questions that follow.

OR: It my little monkey here.	ER: Is my little monkey here?
OR: We got to tell.	ER: We've got to tell.
OR: Frog look at Toad calendar.	ER: Frog looked at Toad's calendar.
OR: A word what sounded good.	ER: A word that sounded good.
OR: hisself	ER: himself
OR: I can come to your party?	ER: Can I come to your party?

 
Are these children's miscues evidence of proficient or non-proficient reading? Explain. If you were teaching children who made these miscues, what, if any, assistance or teaching would you offer?  

  According to Weaver, good readers often miscue on simple words as they use context to construct meaning from the text.” (Weaver, 2012. p. 64) Proficient readers tend substitute pronouns or functional words as they are reading, mostly to due to their ability to construct meaning as they read and not focusing on identification of words. After examining the children’s miscues, I feel they are all proficient at reading expect for the first child’s response.  The proficient readers made miscues on pronouns and simple functional words but still maintained meaning from their reading. This shows their reading is at a proficient level because they are able to use strategies in their reading to find meaning and comprehend the text. However, in the first child’s response the miscue was on simple functional word which changed the meaning of the sentence from a statement to a question. I feel this child is a non-proficient reader due to the miscue leading to the change in meaning. I also feel it would be helpful to see the reading selection this child was reading as a way to see what was coming before and after this sentence. This might provide more clarity in the child’s reading ability and allow a teacher to plan meaning instruction for this student.

When looking at the examples above, I don’t feel it would be necessary to correct the miscues of the proficient readers, but I do feel it is necessary to correct the non-proficient reader as he/she changed meaning in the text. It’s important to correct a child’s reading when it results in the effectiveness to comprehend a reading selection. I feel it is important to address the miscues as soon as it occurs to encourage students to use strategies in their reading to find meaning instead of just reading words on a page.  

References:

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process & practice. (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.