Use phonics to get a child or an adult to understand that each letter has a sound; so the letter "a" is "ah," the letter "b" is "buh." Get the children to practice a letter a day.
Teach the children a simple song or rhyme. This helps children to memorize words by really listening and using the sound in words. Emphasize the rhyming words and how the letters sound. For instance: "Baa baa Black sheep, have you any wool?; Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full." The two words that rhyme are "wool" and "full." Ask the children to sound out these words and define them.
Practice high-frequency words such as: "and," "in," "at," "what" and "the." Use flash cards and sound out the words with the children. Play matching games by making a set of cards with these words -- making two cards for each word. Have the students turn over all of the cards and try to match the pairs. Have the children practice the words as they turn them over.
Use hand signs for each letter. If you are talking about the letter "a," make a "c" shape with one hand, using your thumb and index finger. With your other hand, use your index finger to make the straight line at right side of the "a."
Get the children to form letters by using a pen and paper. Use letters or common lines that occur in letters -- such as straight and curved lines -- that they can trace on a worksheet that has pictures of all of the "a" words, such as "ant," "apple" or "ax." Have the students practice writing their names and letters that spell the days of the week.
Use foam letters or magnetic letters that you can buy at most craft stores. Get the children to start making words from these letters. This type of kinesthetic approach works better for some children.
Use a theme each week to improve spoken and written vocabulary. Do a week all about "the kitchen," for example, and talk about items that you find there. Play games that denote kitchen activities or do some cooking activities and talk and write about the utensils you have used.
Implement individual project books for each child. These would include topics that interest individual students, such as animals in the wild, magic, creepy creatures or clothes. The child then has time each day to add new pictures and words to his project book, which he can present to the class at the end of semester.
Encourage children to place words together to form sentences. Get the children to say the sentences using cards or write the words to form sentences. Make the sentences simple at first. For example, you could ask, "What color is the bus in the picture?" The children would then write or use cards to form the answer: "The bus is yellow."