Teach children to identify the lower- and upper-case letters of the alphabet. Post an alphabet bulletin board set on the wall. Practice letters with flashcards. Use magnetic letters on chalkboards, whiteboards or cookie sheets. Have children make letters in sand, trace them on someone's back or make letters on sandwich bags filled with hair gel. Discuss where you see letters and point them out on signs, in newspapers and on television. Read alphabet books and poems together.
Teach children sounds by having them think of words that begin with each letter. Create an alphabet book together where they draw or cut and paste pictures from magazines to represent the letters. Make posters to hang on the wall with pictures for each letter. Teach children actions and phrases to go with each letter, such as rubbing their stomachs and saying "Mmmm" for the letter "M." Recite simple poems and chants with alliteration.
Teach children simple words, beginning with three-letter words that follow the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. "Cat" and "mop" are examples. Cue children to look at the first letter in a word and say the corresponding sound. Encourage them to move on to the middle and end sounds. Middle sounds are often the most challenging for children to isolate. Model how to stretch the word out. When a word becomes well-known, have children create new words by changing only the first letter. You can do the same activity with changing the last letter.
Once children have mastered identifying letters and their primary sounds, begin teaching other sounds. This includes long vowel sounds, the silent "e" and letters that have two sounds, such as "g." Introduce blends to children, such as "tr" and "cl." Teach children digraphs (two letters that work together as one sound) like "th" and "sh." Learning additional sounds allows children to decode longer and more complex words. Add four-letter words to your lessons.