Introduce the vowels, teaching short-vowel sounds and then long-vowel sounds. Print every vowel--both upper-case and lower-case--on its own piece of construction paper and display the letters on the walls of the classroom. Conduct daily drills to reinforce vowel sound- and sight-recognition.
Print every consonant on an individual piece of paper and attach a new letter to the wall when you introduce it to the children. Before you introduce a new letter sound, spend several minutes reviewing what the children learned previously.
Introduce short-vowel words, such as pat, den and run. Begin with short-vowel A words, proceed to short-vowel E words and continue until you have covered all the short-vowels. Using chart paper, print four or five simple words containing short-vowels. Ask the children to read the words aloud with you. Cover up the first word with a piece of paper, and as you begin reading the word aloud, reveal only the sound that you are currently pronouncing.
To reinforce the learning, distribute letter tiles and allow children to work in small groups. Encourage children to use their increasing knowledge of the letter sounds to make their own small words. Instruct children to replace the first, last or middle tile to form new words.
Progress to multiple-consonant blends. Begin by teaching two-consonant ending blends such as "st" and "ld." Introduce two-consonant beginning blends such "sm" and "st." Explain consonant digraphs such as "ch" and "th." Finally, introduce three-consonant blends such as "spl" and "spr." Print letter blends and vowels on index cards and allow the children to work independently or in small groups. Encourage them to manipulate the cards to form real words.
Discuss some of the more challenging letter sounds. Explain that letters "C" and "G" have hard and soft sounds and point out common spellings for long "A", long "E," long "I," long "O" and long "U" sounds. Discuss how short-vowels become long-vowels when you add a silent "E." When the students are ready, introduce silent-letter combinations, such as "gh," "igh" and "ough" as well as the silent "K" before "N" and the silent "W" before "H."