Don't tell them the word...

Want your reader to be more independent? Don't tell her the word. Give her a reading prompt like this:

#1 - "Say all the letters in the word" (This forces her to notice all the letters. Make sure she spells the word.) If she gets it say, "Sometimes you can figure out a word by looking at all the letters."
#2 - "Keep your finger under the word, finish the sentence, then go back and try it again." (This might give her some context clues.) If she gets it say, "Sometimes you can figure out a word by thinking about the rest of the sentence."
#3 - Direct her to the picture for some clues. Make sure the word she tries starts with the correct sounds. If she gets it say, "Sometimes what goes on in the picture helps you figure out the word."
#4 - "That word (spell it) rhymes with ______ (spell it)." If she gets it say, "Often you already know a word that ends the same as a new word."
#5 - "What is _____ doing in the story that starts with ___?" (Say the beginning sounds of the word.) If she gets it say, "If you think about the sentence and the beginning sounds, you can figure out the word."
#6 - If all else fails, you're still not going to tell her the word. Give her two choices of what it could say making sure one choice is so obvious, she can't get it wrong. (Does it say "The puppy licks her nose." or "The puppy loses her nose?") Say "Wonderful! Let's read some more."

source: Phonics They Use by Patricia M. Cunningham