Goofing On Purpose

 

            Today's Snack: Did you know that the greatest food invention in the history of the planet, the chocolate chip cookie, was actually a GOOF? That's right - the cook at a little old-fashioned motel called the Toll House Inn screwed up while making cookies, and threw in some bits of semisweet chocolate into the dough. People loved it! Immediately, his chest puffed out, and he said, "Of course I MEANT to do that!!!" Whatever. We're just really glad he did. So today, have a couple of chocolate chippers, and toast a glass of milk to happy accidents!

 

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Here's a read-aloud tip for parents or youth-serving professionals:

 

As a child begins to decode words on the page, and is reading aloud independently in the early stages, the process is exciting.

 

Give that child a lot of encouragement. Don't be too picky about mistakes in pronunciation.

 

Remember the 80/20 rule: give at least 80% praise and never more than 20% correction, and you'll keep the tone light and the learning fun.

 

            But as reading mastery begins to set in, in first or second grade and beyond, and the child is making fewer and fewer decoding errors, you need to find ways to help the child strive for the utmost accuracy in reading. That's the best route to excellence in comprehension.

 

            Here's a fun but simple way to help any child become a critical, analytical reader who is a careful listener, can spot errors, and loves to get things right:

 

            When you read aloud, GOOF, on purpose.

           

            Sit so that the child or children can see the text. Now you read aloud, at a moderate pace. After a few paragraphs, deliberately insert a word in a key place that shouldn't be there. Make it extremely obvious. Accentuate the mistake verbally for humorous exaggeration.

 

            You know: instead of reading, "Sally sat on the cushion," say, "Sally sat on the cucumber."

 

            At first, your child or the children might be shocked.

 

But then, they'll catch on to the game. They'll correct you, you'll all laugh, and you can go on. But be sure to do it two more times in that book. There's something about the Rule of Three that really makes things memorable.

 

It's good for children to see that adults can make mistakes and laugh about it. It's relaxing and encouraging, instead of making them feel like they're "working" or under a microscope when they're reading with you.

 

            Substitute the child's own name for a given name in a story, greatly exaggerate a number, or whatever the child's favorite word is at the moment, substitute that word in ridiculous contexts.

 

There's something hilarious about the words "banana" and "underwear," so sneak them in from time to time. Children will love it.

 

Children usually start shouting out the correct word, and then laughing like crazy at their parent's or instructor's goofy mistake.

 

            Read on for a few more paragraphs, and then goof again. Instead of "They all went for a ride in the car," say, "They all went for a ride in the magic pumpkin."

 

            It's really fun to play dumb, and be outraged that your child thinks you read it wrong.

 

Your child will laugh again, insert the proper word, and by then, may want to follow the text with his or her finger in order to "catch" your next error just as you say it.

           

            It may sound crazy . . . but ending up with a child who's a good reader makes you crazy like a fox. 

            By Susan Darst Williams • www.AfterSchoolTreats.com • Reading • © 2010