One of the first phonics skills children learn is to rhyme words. If an adult says the word "cat," children in kindergarten will often be able to name words that rhyme, such as "hat" and "mat." This skill can be taught simply by reading rhyming books and poems to the children and by singing songs. The repetition of words and rhymes help kindergarten children understand the concept of rhyming.
In kindergarten, children also learn how to identify the first letter sound in words. This is important because once they are familiar with a story and beginning to learn to read, the first letter sound can be a clue as to what the word is. At first they will use the letter sound to recall the word from memory, rather than actually reading it, but this is an important step in the learn-to-read journey.
As children progress through kindergarten, they also learn how to blend two sounds to create a word. If you separate the "c" sound and the "at" sound, they will put together the word "cat." Once they start doing this, you can present lists of words all with the "at" sound at the end, and the children will be able to sound out a variety of words when you simply change the first letter. Read books that repeat these words, and show the words with identifying pictures to further enhance the students' comprehension.
Blending multiple sounds is another important step in phonics skills. This is a more complex version of the previous step, in which you say the "c," "a," and "t" sounds slowly and the child is able to put together the word "cat." Separating each letter sound in short words will allow the children to sound out most of the words they will come across in simple, age-appropriate books.