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Does your child skip small words when he’s reading?

Skipping small words is actually a very common problem that we usually notice when our children are reading aloud, but the truth is that many adults skip words as well.

Interestingly, the most commonly skipped words are small, high-frequency words such as the, in, on, a, and of.

These are function words that a child cannot visualize, and since the sentence can still be comprehended without them, the words are easily skimmed over.

In addition, shorter words are much more likely to be skipped than longer words, and predictable words are more likely to be skipped than non-predictable words.

Why Do Readers Skip Small Words?

When I first explored the reasons for skipping small words while reading, I was surprised to find out how much research has been done on this topic. Generally, researchers wanted to study the way the eyes move during the process of reading: how they track, how they jump forward to the next word or phrase, and how much text is taken in at a single glance.

I’ve cited the research at the bottom of this post, but for our purposes, the main thing we need to know is this:

As a person reads, their eyes jump forward to the next word or phrase, and in this process, small words can be missed.

Longer words or unusual short words grab our attention, while smaller common words are more likely to go unnoticed.

In addition to the scientific explanation, there are several other reasons a child may skip words:

• Your child may be reading too fast. Children who read too quickly tend to think that “good readers are really fast readers.” But skipping small words is just one of the many issues that can crop up if a child reads too fast.
• Your child’s eyes are moving faster than he can say the words. If this is the case, he may have actually seen the word, but he didn’t actually speak it aloud. People speak at a rate of approximately 180 words per minute, while the average person can silently read 230 words per minute.

• Your child may have vision problems. There is a vision issue called convergence insufficiency disorder. With this vision disorder, the eyes have great difficulty focusing, and small words are often skipped.
• Your child may have dyslexia. Skipping words can be a symptom of dyslexia. If you suspect dyslexia, this checklist may be helpful.
• Your child may be unable to decode the words. If you point out the skipped word, is he able to read it? If not, the real problem may be that the reading material is above his comfortable reading level. He may need additional instruction in phonics and decoding.
• Your child has suddenly begun to skip small words. Some children who were previously reading small words with no problem may suddenly begin skipping them. This can be a natural occurrence as your child is developing as a reader. He may be moving from the beginning stage of reading one word at a time to the more advanced stage of taking in a phrase at a time. This could solve itself in a few weeks as your child figures out the best speed for smooth reading.

3 Ways to Remedy This Problem

If your child doesn’t have a vision or decoding problem, the tips below will help your student pay attention to smaller words when reading.

1. Have your child point to each word as he reads it. He shouldn’t just slide his finger under the sentence—he should actually point to the word being read. After he stops skipping words, discontinue this practice.
   
   
2. Record your child reading and play back the audio. This may help him recognize the fact that he is skipping words as he is reading.
3. When your child skips a word, ask him if the sentence he just read makes sense. Then have him reread the sentence again to see if he can correct the issue.

The Bottom Line on Skipping Small Words

• Word skipping is a common scenario that happens to children and adults.
• Children skip words for many reasons.
• The solution will depend on the reason behind the word skipping, but there are many ways to remedy this issue.

Does your child skip words when he is reading? Have you discovered any helpful tips?

Photo credit: Rachel Neumann