Understanding Miscues in Reading: Types and Implications for Instruction

A miscue is a mistake made by a reader while decoding a text. It can be a missed word, a wrong word, or a misunderstood sentence. Miscues can provide valuable information about a reader's comprehension and can help teachers identify areas where students need additional support or practice.

Here are some common types of miscues:

1. Substitution errors: When a reader mistakenly replaces a word with another word that sounds similar.
2. Commission errors: When a reader adds a word or phrase that is not present in the text.
3. Omission errors: When a reader leaves out a word or phrase from the text.
4. Distortion errors: When a reader misinterprets the meaning of a word or phrase, often resulting in a nonsensical sentence.
5. Self-correction errors: When a reader corrects their own mistake, but still retains some aspect of the error.

Teachers can use miscue analysis to identify areas where students need additional support or practice, and to inform their instructional decisions. By analyzing miscues, teachers can gain insights into how students are processing text and what they may need to work on to improve their reading skills.