Dear Parents,

This past week during assessments, I was so impressed by the improved reading skills of the students. It is exciting to see the pieces of reading come together! We begin this week with new challenges and new books. Our focus is on Look Alikes, those visually similar words that can confuse readers.
Many words in our language look like other words (on/in, look/like, has/have, looked/looks). Readers need to be mindful of these slight differences because a mistake with one of these words can radically change the meaning of a story.

There are several approaches that can help readers avoid getting tricked by Look Alikes and improve their accuracy. One way is to use a reading finger underneath the words during reading. This will slow down quick moving eyes and help tune the brain into letter/sound details. If your child is reluctant to do this, try the Mirror Game, using your finger above the words while your child mirrors or slides underneath. Another approach is to encourage your child to read aloud, staying alert for reading that doesn’t make sense and then fixing up the mistake. With Look Alikes, the first letter is usually the same (look/like), but the middle or end letters are different. Building awareness of these words can be helpful. If your child is making these kinds of errors, try some of the strategies listed above. When your child rereads the page or book, give specific praise for successful reading of these tricky Look Alikes.

Happy reading!