Say a student comes to a word he doesn't know. The teacher may promote one or more of the following tips to help the student. These include:
Use the picture.
Read on and then come back.
Start the sentence again.
Look for a little word in a big word.
Skip it.
Add another word that makes sense.
Take a running start, and, if all else fails.
Sound it out.
The example is inefficient because the student is not directed to sound it out immediately; he is asked to do many other steps before, if he gets that far, he can or is told to sound it out. When a student is first learning to read, we should focus on the task at hand -- sounding it out, or decoding. As students learn to read, we can move to other error correction strategies. For the purposes of this course, a general error correction procedure should be followed to ensure efficient learning for students.
Format for correcting errors. |
|||
Model → |
→ Lead → |
→ Test → |
→ Retest |
“My turn.” Teacher responds with correct answer |
“Say it with me.” Teacher & students provide correct answer |
“Your turn.” Students provide correct answer |
“Starting over.” Teacher has students provide the correct answer later during the same lesson |
This format should look familiar. It mirrors the "I do, we do, you do" approach described under teaching procedures. If a student comes to a word and struggles in sounding it out, the teacher might use the following error correction:
My turn: Sound it out. "mmaaannn"
Your turn: Sound it out. Student sounds out word. "mmaaannn"
The teacher may also say, "Now say it fast," or "What word?" to get the student to make it a “real” word.
Following this, the teacher should include a retest -- "Now, start over at the beginning of the sentence." This retest is helpful for comprehension and gives students yet another opportunity to practice the word or task. The lead is an optional step that can be used with lower performing students. It involves having students perform a task with the teacher before they perform it on their own ("Sound it out with me. mmmaaannn").