Explicit phonics is a widely used method for teaching children to read that involves connecting letter sounds to make words. Start by teaching your child letter sounds such as long and short vowels and consonant sounds. Then show him how to combine the letter sounds into words. For example, show him how the sounds made by the letters "c," "a" and "t" blend to spell the word "cat." The phonics method equips your child to decode words he has never seen before when there are no illustrations to guide him.
For learning the many words in the English language that stray from the basic rules of phonics, the sight words method (also known as "Look and Say") is helpful. Words such as "the," "to" and "who" can be taught using this approach, which simply involves repetitive exposure to words until your child has them memorized. Use flash cards to teach these words, or read to your child often and point to the words as you read them.
The child-led approach uses either the phonics or sight words strategy while capitalizing on your child's attention to something to intensify learning. Have your child draw something she likes, and label it for her so she can see it in print. For example, if she draws a house, write "house" beneath it. She is more likely to remember the word in print if she initiated it, rather than if she is focused on something else and you tried to redirect her attention.
Implicit phonics is an alternative to word building from sounds in which children are taught to identify whole words. Word shape, beginning and ending sounds and context clues are used to assist in word identification.