The traditional phonetic strategy involves showing students pictures of letters, demonstrating the sound each letter makes, explaining special letters with multiple sounds and then instructing students to repeat those sounds as they see the letters. This is a formative technique, giving students the basic phonetic understanding. This technique engages visual learners and auditory learners. Once students understand these sounds, they can begin using this information, sounding out each letter in a word until they have decoded the entire word.
Given the right tools, students can develop their own understanding of phonetic sounds and develop personal decoding techniques. Give a child a collection of magnetic letters to play with, and a metallic surface on which to affix the letters, such as a refrigerator door or small metallic board. Encourage the child to use the letters to spell words by dividing words into specific letter sounds, selecting the letter that coincides with the sound and placing it on the surface. Praise the child when she correctly creates a word, and help her sound out words when she seems confused.
Parents can help children learn the decoding process, while spending some valuable time reading to their children. Read aloud to your child, slowing your voice as you pronounce words. Pronounce the words by sounding out each letter, demonstrating the decoding process to your child. Encourage him to read words to you by selecting words with familiar sounds and asking him to pronounce them. Encourage him to use the decoding process, sounding out each letter as he works to read the full word. Praise your child when he reads a word correctly, encouraging him to continue using the technique.
Teachers have access to tools and resources. Focus on specific sounds, simple letter sounds early and later move on to complicated sounds, sounds involving multiple letters such as “sh,” “ch” or “que.” Prepare worksheets, using multiple words with each sound, in conjunction with visual pictures of words and sounds. Also, use the classroom environment by giving students flash cards with sounds and pictures of things whose names include those sounds. Instruct them to work in groups to decode the flash cards. For instance, use flash cards with the “ch” sound and a picture of a cherry.