Which term describes the teacher's intervention in the child's independent reading to help the child pronounce or comprehend a specific word or prompt?

• A. Phonics
• B. Prompts
• C. Phonology
• D. Orthography

Answer: (B)

The concept being tested is prompting during reading. When a teacher steps in to help a child pronounce or understand a specific word or prompt while the child is reading aloud, they are providing prompts. Prompts are brief cues or hints that guide the reader toward the correct pronunciation or a meaning-based understanding without giving away the answer. This kind of real-time support supports my word recognition and comprehension as the student reads.

Phonics is the systematic teaching of letter-sound relationships and how to blend them to read words, which is broader and instructional, not just a momentary in-the-moment aid. Phonology refers to the sound system of a language—the actual sounds and their organization—more of a theoretical or linguistic concept than a classroom intervention. Orthography concerns the conventions of spelling and the written form of words, again not about the cues given to support reading in the moment.