ABSTRACT

As we visit in primary classrooms, we occasionally hear teachers say to their students, “Just read more carefully”; “Look at the word”; “Sound it out”; or “What letter does the word begin with?” Recently researchers engaging in eye movement and miscue analysis studies found that instruction that focuses children on looking at letters and words and sounding out is contrary to what is being discovered (Duckett, 2001; Paulson & Freeman, 2003). Documenting what readers’ eyes actually look at while they are reading orally provides information that has previously been unavailable to the teacher.