Teaching Tips

Teaching Tip: Learning to Cross-Check

Beginning readers need to learn to check one kind of information with another; this is called cross-checking. Students might check meaning (via the picture) with visual information (via the first letter of the word). They also may check that the words they say match the number of words they point to. Cross-checking leads to self-correction or, at the very least, helps students to stop and notice when something isn’t right. This step is an important part of developing a strong processing system. As teachers, we need to set up opportunities for students to cross-check and then teach, prompt, and reinforce it.

Text selection plays a critical role in supporting students’ ability to cross-check. To help, I wrote Dad and Name Clean the House, a new free BookBuilder Online story that I hope you will find useful. Many guided reading books at level B have a pattern that includes two lines of text on each page, but this one works a bit differently. Each page shows something that Dad can do and then the next one demonstrates what the named boy can do. You can create your own version by adding a familiar boy’s name, and students can check the picture to know if it is the boy or Dad doing the cleaning. Students should be able to cross-check two early known words: the name and Dad. This will help them know if they are reading correctly and should give students a solid foothold in the text.

If a student makes a mistake, try prompting them for cross-checking as they read by saying, It could be _______, but look at ______. and point to the first letter in the word they misread. You can also ask, Were you right?, both when they are correct and when they’re not.

In a guided reading lesson at the emergent level (A to C), you might do a teaching point focused on cross-checking after students finish reading the book. Try folding back the picture, ask students to read the page, and talk about using the first letter to check. In this clip, watch literacy expert Jan Richardson show how this can work with the book Bella’s Busy Day.

Marie Clay tells us, When a teacher pays attention to cross-checking, the child is more likely to engage in it. Her attention to it shows the child that she values the checking behaviors. Jan’s work with these students provides a terrific demonstration of Clay’s words.

Wishing you a great start to the new year!

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