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“Does it make sense? Does it look right? Does it sound right?” can be helpful questions to consider asking your child if they stumble on a word they’re trying to read. Here’s how you could use these guiding questions.

Does it Make Sense?

This is about your child establishing meaning.

• Readers use meaningful information gained from the picture, sentence context, or story line. They draw upon their background knowledge as they think about what would make sense.
• By asking your child, “Does it make sense?” throughout a story, your child understands that everything they read is supposed to make sense.
• Check for meaning by retelling the story after reading.
• Prompts for meaning cues:
  • “You said ‘Rocket hides his sticks in the tree.’…Does that make sense?”
  • “What is going on in that picture?”
  • “What happened in the story when…?”
  • (Before turning the page) “What do you think is going to happen?” or “What could it be?”
  • “Does that fit with what you already know about the story?”

Does it Look Right?

This is about your child establishing visual cues.

• Readers check the visual information – the letters and words. They draw upon their knowledge of phonics as they think about what word looks right.
• By asking your child, “Does it look right?” you’re encouraging them to critically look at the print. Encourage them to pay special attention to:
  • Beginning sounds.
  • Ending sounds.
  • Familiar chunks in the word (e.g. ‘-ing’ or blends (consonant and vowel)).
  • Blending sounds together by stretching out the word.
  • Directionality, spaces and words.
• Prompts for visual cues:
  • “What do you expect to see at the beginning? end?”
  • “How did you know it was ___?”
  • “Do you know a word like that?
  • “Do you know a word that starts with those letters?”
  • “Do you know something that ends with those letters?”
  • “Do you see a small chunk of the word that you know?”
  • “What sounds can you see in the word?”

Does it Sound Right?

This is about your child learning language structure.

• Readers use structural knowledge as they think about what would sound right. They draw upon their knowledge of spoken language.
• By asking your child, “Does it sound right?” it encourages your child to listen to what they’re saying.
• Prompts for structure cues:
  • “You said ___. Does that sound right?”
  • “Does that sound like the way we talk?”
  • “Read back error sentences, then ask “How does that sound to you? What do you think we should say differently?”

Talk, read and write together!