Why My Child Guesses at Words Instead of Sounding Them Out
Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. In our experience, children often guess when sounding out is too slow and too hard. In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first.
TL;DR
- Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. To us, that is not cheating or laziness. In our experience, children often guess when sounding out is too slow and too hard.
- Teachers put accuracy before speed. Their reason is that chasing speed first rewards guessing.
- Cover the picture. You will see quickly whether the sounding out is there.
- Ask the school for systematic, explicit phonics instruction by name. The National Reading Panel found that systematic phonics instruction significantly improves reading achievement.
- In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Sounding out means matching letters to their sounds and blending them into a word. Schools call it decoding.
”Sounding outWhat guessing looks like
Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. To us, that is not cheating or laziness. In our experience, children often guess when sounding out is too slow and too hard. Guessing works on early books, where the pictures tell the story. It stops working when the pictures stop.
You may hear your child say a word with the right first letter. That word means something else, like house for horse or when for where.
The pictures carry a lot of the reading. Cover them and the reading changes.
Why children guess
A 2016 review looked at skilled adult readers (Rayner and colleagues). Those readers look at most words in turn. To us, guessing is often how struggling readers get by.
Some reading lessons teach a child to guess a word from clues. The clues are the picture and what would make sense. To us, this is a question about the method, not about any teacher.
How to see whether the sounding out is there
Cover the picture. You will see quickly whether the sounding out is there.
Teachers put accuracy before speed. Their reason is that chasing speed first rewards guessing.
To us, a quick guess can look like fast reading, but it is not.
What helps
Ask the school for systematic, explicit phonics instruction by name. That means teaching letters and their sounds in a planned order. The sounds are not left to be picked up from reading. The National Reading Panel found that systematic phonics instruction significantly improves reading achievement.
One review looked at 22 trials of help for children with reading disabilities (Galuschka and colleagues, 2014). Phonics teaching was the only approach it confirmed for reading and spelling. The other approaches had far fewer trials. So their results are partly thin evidence, not proof they do not work.
When your child misreads a word, point back to the sounds. Do not just say the word. Teachers correct this way. We hold no study of this correction on its own.
In our view, a decodable book is a useful tool. It uses only the letter patterns your child has been taught. So the only way to the words is sounding them out. Keep reading richer books aloud to your child as well. Our page on phonics activities has more on practice at home.
Reading improves with reading instruction. Suppose a program promises better reading from an activity that is not reading. Check that claim.
Is guessing a sign of dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a name for a pattern of trouble reading words, spelling, or both. Struggling to read says nothing about how smart your child is.
In our view, guessing shows where to start, not what to call it. Our rule is to describe patterns on these pages. We do not put a name on a child.
What to do first
In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
When to ask for help
Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.
- Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
- Reading well below what school expects.
- A teacher who raises a concern about reading.
- Extreme upset about reading.
- Complete avoidance of reading.
- Hopelessness about learning.
- Sadness or worry that lasts.
- Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
- A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.
Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.
In the classroom
A child who guesses from the first letter is making up for something, not skipping steps. Cover the picture. You will see quickly whether the sounding out is there.
Do not ask for reading aloud in front of the class without warning. Give the passage the day before, or ask for volunteers.
Two sentences for an email home: "I have noticed she guesses words from the picture. Could you check her sounding out?"
Key Takeaways
Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. In our experience, children often guess when sounding out is too slow and too hard.
In our view, guessing from pictures is a strategy that works until the pictures stop. Cover the picture and watch.
Ask the school for systematic, explicit phonics instruction by name. The National Reading Panel found that systematic phonics instruction significantly improves reading achievement.
When your child misreads a word, point back to the sounds. Do not just say the word.
In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Cover the pictures on one page of whatever your child is reading. Listen to what happens. If the reading breaks down when the pictures go, you have learned something about where to start. It takes two minutes.
”What to do tonightWhat to use next
A set of questions you answer about what you see at home. A screener is a starting point, not a diagnosis. If your child might need formal accommodations (an IEP or 504 plan), or you suspect a vision, hearing, or medical cause, pursue a professional evaluation too — that's the only route to those supports.
A short reading and spelling practice. Each word appears letter by letter. The picture comes only once the word is complete. So guessing from the image is not available. It includes writing words from memory. That practices the spelling and the writing of a word at the same time.
Common questions from parents
Why does my child guess the word from the first letter?
Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. In our experience, children often guess when sounding out is too slow and too hard. Teachers put accuracy before speed. Their reason is that chasing speed first rewards guessing. In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Is guessing a sign of dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a name for a pattern of trouble reading words, spelling, or both. In our view, guessing shows where to start, not what to call it. Our rule is to describe patterns on these pages. We do not put a name on a child. In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
Should I stop my child from guessing?
When your child misreads a word, point back to the sounds. Do not just say the word. Teachers correct this way. We hold no study of this correction on its own. Cover the picture. You will see quickly whether the sounding out is there.
Why does my child's reading fall apart when the pictures stop?
Some children guess a word from its first letter and the picture. Guessing works on early books, where the pictures tell the story. It stops working when the pictures stop. Cover the picture. You will see quickly whether the sounding out is there. In our view, start with the sounding out. The exception is a skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.
What is a decodable book?
In our view, a decodable book is a useful tool. It uses only the letter patterns your child has been taught. So the only way to the words is sounding them out. Keep reading richer books aloud to your child as well.