Teach the alphabet. Use repetition of the "alphabet song" to aide memorization. Teach both the name of the letter and the short and long sounds the letter can make. Use a word that begins with the letter, such as "A is for apple," to incorporate real-world understanding.
Teach consonant sounds. Consonant sounds include the 18 letters that are not vowels, as well as the digraphs "ch," "sh," "zh," "th," "wh" and "ng" sounds. "C," "x" and "q" are not considered consonant sounds because they can be pronounced using other consonants. Give students several words to associate with these sounds. Say the words and sounds several times and ask students to repeat after you. Ask students to identify sounds on sight by using phonics flashcards.
Teach long and short vowel sounds. Teach students that pronouncing long vowel sounds uses the name of the vowel. The letter "a" is heard in the word "cake." The letter "e" is heard in the word "see." "I" is heard in the word "fine." Practice creating long vowel sounds with fill-in-the-blank worksheets. Leave the vowels blank and allow students to fill in the correct vowel(s) according to the word. Practice the short vowel sounds by repeating the sound several times. Have the student repeat the sounds after you. Use fill-in-the-blank worksheets to increase comprehension. The student should say the word aloud after they have correctly completed the worksheet.
Introduce two- and three-letter consonant blends. Consonant blends teach students to build word sounds out of a combination of letters and sounds. Combine a consonant with each vowel to practice two-letter consonant blends. Three-letter consonant blends teach students actual words, such as "cat," "fox" or "rug." Allow students to practice saying and writing these new sounds.
Allow students to read short, level-appropriate stories. Give feedback as they read aloud. Students should practice sounding out unfamiliar words by breaking them down into the correct sound parts.
Practice nursery rhymes, simple songs and poems to learn the relationship between rhyming words and letter sounds. Identify consonant sounds versus long or short vowel sounds in a rhyme or song. Listen for alliteration in tongue twisters and identify the correct consonant sound.
Understand the similarities of sounds in vowels, beginning and ending consonants. Learn to identify which word from a group does not rhyme or which word from a group does not begin or end with the same consonant as the other words.
Begin to blend sounds to create words. Listen to each individual sound and identify the word. Listen to words broken by syllables and say the correct whole word. Conversely, listen to a whole word and break the sounds up by syllables. Listen to a word and correctly say each individual sound.
Listen and repeat words as often as possible. Break new words down by syllables as well as individual sounds. Practice reading aloud and listen for feedback.