Teaching a child to read can feel like an enormous responsibility.

Where do you begin? Should children learn letter sounds first? Sight words? Phonics? Should they memorize words? How much should they write? And when are they ready to start reading actual books?

Reading involves many skills, but they don't have to be taught as a collection of disconnected pieces.

Children can learn how spoken sounds connect with print, how those sounds combine to form words, how spelling patterns work, and how words come together to communicate meaning.

The key is to teach these skills explicitly and systematically while continually helping children connect what they are learning with actual reading and writing.

Here is a step-by-step approach.

Step 1: Build Awareness of the Sounds in Spoken Words

Before children can understand phonics, they need to notice that spoken words are made of sounds.

This is called phonemic awareness.

You can practice without showing any letters at first.

Ask a child to listen to a word such as:

map

Stretch it slowly:

/m/ /ă/ /p/

Ask:

“What sound do you hear first?”

“What sound do you hear last?”

Then try putting the sounds together:

/m/ /ă/ /p/ → map

Children can also practice changing sounds:

map → tap

What changed?

Or removing sounds:

Say smile without /s/.

These activities help children notice and manipulate the individual sounds they'll eventually connect with letters.

Keep phonemic-awareness practice active

Children don't have to sit still while working with sounds.

They can:

• tap once for each sound
• move a counter for each sound
• finger-map the sounds in a word
• push blocks into boxes
• stretch a word slowly and then blend it
• add, remove, or substitute sounds to make new words

At this stage, the important thing is that the child is listening closely to spoken language.

Step 2: Teach Letters and Their Sounds Explicitly

Once children begin noticing sounds, connect those sounds with print.

Teach children that letters and groups of letters represent sounds in written words.

Don't simply ask children to memorize the alphabet in order. They need to know what letters do.

For example:

M represents /m/
S represents /s/
A can represent /ă/ as in apple

Say the sound.

Show the letter.

Let the child say the sound.

Write the letter.

Find the letter in words.

Use it to build words as soon as possible.

Make letter learning memorable

Some children remember a letter-sound relationship after only a few exposures. Others benefit from additional reinforcement.

A meaningful picture, story, gesture, tactile activity, or body motion can provide another connection to what is being explicitly taught.

For example, a child might:

• trace a letter while saying its sound
• form the letter with clay
• write it on a whiteboard
• find it among several other letters
• use a motion associated with its sound
• connect it with a meaningful picture or story

These activities should reinforce the letter-sound relationship, not replace it.

Ultimately, the child needs to see an ordinary printed letter and know the sound it represents.

Step 3: Start Building Words Early

Children don't need to know every letter of the alphabet before they experience the excitement of reading a word.

Once they know a small, useful group of sounds, begin combining them.

Sarah Major saw the power of this when she worked with kindergarten students during an Easy-for-Me™ Reading pilot.

She pulled a small group of children who were considered at risk for reading difficulties. At first, she was met with blank looks when she asked them to work with sounds and words.

So she put letter “flags”—letters written on sticky notes—on the whiteboard.

She said:

CAT.

The children listened for the sounds and eventually pulled down the letters:

C – A – T

Then Sarah asked for:

PAT

Again, they listened and manipulated the letters.

Finally she said:

STOP

The children used the sounds they knew to

 construct the word.

The important part of the activity wasn't the sticky notes themselves.

The children were hearing sounds, connecting sounds with letters, sequencing those letters, manipulating print, and building words.

A small set of known sounds had suddenly become useful.

That's when reading starts to feel like language rather than a collection of flash cards.

Step 4: Teach Children to Blend Sounds Into Words

Knowing individual letter sounds isn't enough.

A child may point to:

m – a – p

and correctly say:

/m/ /ă/ /p/

but still not read map.

The child must learn to blend those sounds together.

Model it clearly:

/mmmmăăăp/ → map

Then let the child try.

Begin with words containing sound-spelling relationships the child already knows.

For example:

sat
map
sit
tip
mat

As blending becomes easier, introduce additional sounds and gradually increase the complexity of the words.

The goal is for children to understand:

The letters aren't three unrelated symbols. Together, they represent a spoken word I know.

Step 5: Teach Phonics Systematically

As children learn more letters and sounds, continue building their knowledge in an organized sequence.

Phonics teaches children how sounds in spoken language are represented in print.

That includes more than single consonants and short vowels.

Eventually children encounter:

• consonant digraphs such as sh, ch, th
• consonant blends
• long-vowel patterns
• vowel teams
• r-controlled vowels
• common endings
• increasingly complex sound-spelling patterns

Teach new patterns explicitly.

Then immediately give children opportunities to read, build, spell, sort, and write words containing the pattern.

Help children see patterns across words

Suppose you're teaching long A.

Children might compare:

AI
rain
mail
paint

AY
day
play
stay

A-E
cake
game
late

Instead of encountering every word as an isolated problem, children begin seeing how English spelling works across groups of words.

They can ask:

“What sound do these words share?”

“How is that sound spelled?”

“Where does this spelling usually appear?”

Patterns give children something meaningful to notice and apply.

Step 6: Connect Reading and Spelling

Reading and spelling reinforce one another.

When children read, they move from:

print → sounds → word

When they spell, they work in the opposite direction:

word → sounds → print

Suppose a child reads:

ship

Now ask the child to spell it.

Say the word slowly.

Segment it:

/sh/ /ĭ/ /p/

Then represent those sounds:

SH – I – P

Building and spelling words makes children pay close attention to the internal structure of words rather than relying on vague visual familiarity.

Use:

• letter tiles
• sound boxes
• finger mapping
• whiteboards
• word building
• word sorts
• dictation
• sentence writing

Then return to reading.

This creates a productive cycle:

hear → build → read → spell → write → read again

Step 7: Teach High-Frequency Words Without Abandoning Phonics

Beginning readers quickly encounter words such as:

the, said, was, you, are, come

Some high-frequency words contain sound-spelling relationships children haven't learned yet or include less common spellings.

That doesn't mean children should simply memorize the visual shape of every word.

Look closely at the word.

Ask:

What parts can the child already explain with phonics?

Then explicitly teach the part that is unfamiliar or unusual.

Repeated successful encounters help the word become increasingly automatic.

What if a child keeps forgetting a word?

Some children can decode a word correctly and then encounter it again moments later as though they've never seen it.

Additional meaningful reinforcement can help.

Child1st's SnapWords® provide temporary memory supports by connecting the printed word with a meaningful visual, context, verbal cue, and body motion.

Once the child recognizes the word, turn the card over to the plain printed word.

Practice retrieving it without the picture.

Then find and read it in sentences and connected text.

The destination is always the same:

automatic recognition of the printed word independently.

Step 8: Use Multisensory Activities to Reinforce Learning

Reading instruction can be explicit and systematic and active.

Children can:

• hear a sound
• say it
• see its spelling
• build it
• trace it
• write it
• sort words containing it
• use a meaningful motion
• find it in text
• spell words containing it

The important question isn't:

“Is this activity multisensory?”

It's:

“What is this activity helping the child learn?”

Movement and hands-on activities are most useful when they're directly connected to the reading concept.

For example, moving letter tiles to change:

cat → cot → hot

has a clear purpose.

The child is physically manipulating the print while noticing how changing one sound changes the word.

Step 9: Practice New Skills in Connected Reading

Children need to discover quickly that phonics is useful for something:

It helps them read.

Once children have learned enough sounds and patterns to read simple words, give them text containing the skills they've already been taught.

This is where carefully controlled or decodable reading material can be especially helpful.

If children have learned:

m, s, t, p, a, i

we don't want their first reading experience to require them to decode words filled with sound-spelling patterns they haven't encountered yet.

Reading material should give beginning readers opportunities to apply their growing knowledge successfully.

As their phonics knowledge expands, their reading material can expand with it.

Why successful reading practice matters

Children need challenge, but they also need enough success to develop fluency.

If every sentence contains multiple patterns the child doesn't know, reading becomes an exercise in guessing or constant adult assistance.

If the text gives the child opportunities to use what has been taught, the child can experience:

“I know how to figure this out.”

That's an important step toward independence.

Step 10: Build Automatic Word Recognition

Beginning readers naturally read slowly.

At first:

The — dog — ran — to — the — gate.

requires conscious effort.

But words children successfully decode and encounter repeatedly should become increasingly easy to recognize.

This is automatic word recognition.

Automaticity matters because the brain has limited attention.

If a child has to laboriously work through every familiar word, it's difficult to devote enough attention to understanding the sentence.

So continue practicing previously learned words and patterns.

But practice doesn't have to mean endless flash-card drilling.

Children can:

• reread appropriate text
• build familiar words
• spell them
• use them in sentences
• play retrieval games
• read word phrases
• revisit previously taught patterns
• read familiar books again

Accuracy comes first.

Then successful practice helps build efficiency.

Step 11: Include Writing From the Beginning

Children don't need to become fluent readers before they begin writing.

Writing gives them an opportunity to use reading knowledge in reverse.

A child can:

1. draw something
2. talk about the drawing
3. say a sentence
4. listen for the sounds
5. write words
6. read the sentence back

Even simple writing can reinforce phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, vocabulary, sentence structure, and reading.

For example:

The cat sat.

A beginning writer may build the words first with letter tiles, write them on a whiteboard, and then put them into a sentence.

As children learn additional sound-spelling patterns, encourage them to use those patterns in their writing.

Read more: How Writing Helps Children Learn to Read

Step 12: Keep Meaning at the Center of Reading

Reading is not complete when a child successfully pronounces the words.

Children need to understand what those words communicate.

After reading, ask:

“What happened?”

“What did you picture?”

“Why did that happen?”

“What do you think happens next?”

“What was the most important part?”

Let children:

• retell the story
• draw what happened
• act out a scene
• explain something they learned
• connect the text with something they already know

You can even give a child a simple sentence:

The brown dog slept under the table.

Ask the child to draw it.

Did the child draw a brown dog?

Is the dog under rather than beside the table?

This lets you see whether the child is constructing meaning rather than simply saying the words.

As comprehension develops, children should increasingly create these mental representations without needing to draw them.

Step 13: Read Aloud to Your Child

A child's listening comprehension can be far ahead of their independent reading ability.

Don't limit children to stories they can read themselves.

Read aloud.

Through listening, children encounter:

• richer vocabulary
• more complex sentences
• interesting information
• sophisticated stories
• humor
• figurative language
• ideas beyond their independent reading level

Talk about what you're reading.

Ask what the child thinks.

Let them make predictions.

Explain unfamiliar words.

Reading aloud reminds children that all the phonics, word recognition, and fluency work has a purpose:

Reading gives us access to stories, information, ideas, and experiences.

Step 14: Review Cumulatively

Learning something once doesn't mean it will be remembered automatically.

As new skills are introduced, continue reviewing previously learned ones.

If a child has learned:

SH

don't abandon it when you begin:

CH.

Mix old and new material.

Read old patterns in new words.

Return to previously read text.

Ask children to retrieve sounds and spellings without always showing them the answer first.

Cumulative review helps new learning become stable enough to use independently.

Step 15: Pay Attention to the Child in Front of You

A systematic sequence is important, but children don't all need the same amount of practice with every skill.

One child may learn letter-sound relationships quickly but need considerable practice blending.

Another may decode accurately but struggle to develop automatic word recognition.

Another may read individual words well but need more support with fluency or comprehension.

Observe what happens when the child reads.

Ask:

What can this child already do independently?

Where does the process begin to break down?

What does the child need to learn next?

Then teach that skill clearly and give the child enough successful practice to use it independently.

A Simple Sequence for Teaching a Child to Read

If all of this feels like a lot, remember the basic progression:

1. Hear sounds in spoken words.

2. Connect sounds with letters and spellings.

3. Blend sounds to read words.

4. Segment sounds to spell words.

5. Learn common sound-spelling patterns.

6. Develop automatic recognition of frequently encountered words.

7. Apply the skills in connected reading.

8. Write using the same sounds, patterns, and words.

9. Build fluency through successful practice.

10. Continually focus on meaning and comprehension.

These skills overlap and reinforce one another. You don't have to completely finish one before touching the next.

What If My Child Is Already Struggling With Reading?

If your child has already received reading instruction but remains significantly behind, the question becomes somewhat different.

Rather than starting over indiscriminately, determine where the breakdown is occurring.

Is the difficulty with:

• phonemic awareness?
• letter-sound knowledge?
• blending?
• sound-spelling patterns?
• decoding?
• remembering familiar words?
• fluency?
• vocabulary?
• comprehension?

Then focus instruction on the child's actual needs.

We've created a separate guide specifically for this situation:

How to Help a Struggling Reader Catch Up

That separation is intentional. This article explains how to build reading from the beginning; the Catch-Up guide focuses on identifying and addressing difficulties when a child is already behind.

How Child1st Supports Beginning Readers

Child1st resources are designed to combine explicit instruction with meaningful visual, tactile, verbal, and kinesthetic reinforcement.

Easy-for-Me™ Reading

Easy-for-Me™ Reading provides a systematic pathway through beginning reading skills, connecting phonemic awareness, phonics, sound-spelling patterns, word recognition, spelling, writing, and reading practice.

Easy-for-Me™ Children's Readers

Children need opportunities to use what they've learned in actual reading.

Easy-for-Me™ Children's Readers provide connected reading practice using concepts children have been taught so they can apply developing skills with greater independence.

SnapWords®

SnapWords® support automatic recognition of high-frequency words by connecting print with sound, spelling, meaning, visual context, and movement.

As recognition develops, the visual support is removed so children practice reading the plain printed word.

Right-Brained Phonics & Spelling

Right-Brained Phonics & Spelling helps children notice, understand, and remember sound-spelling patterns through explicit instruction combined with meaningful visuals, patterns, stories, and multisensory practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the first step in teaching a child to read?

Help children become aware that spoken words are made of individual sounds, while beginning to connect sounds with the letters that represent them. Phonemic awareness and phonics work closely together as beginning reading develops.

Should I teach letter names or letter sounds first?

Children ultimately need both. Letter names allow us to talk about letters, while letter sounds help children understand how those letters function in words. Don't wait until a child has perfectly memorized every letter name before showing how known letters and sounds can be used to build and read words.

Does a child need to know the whole alphabet before learning to read?

No. Once children know a useful set of letter-sound relationships, they can begin combining them to build and read simple words. Additional letters and sound-spelling patterns can then be introduced systematically.

Should children memorize sight words?

Children need to recognize many frequently occurring words automatically, but that doesn't mean every word should be memorized as an unanalyzed visual shape. Help children connect the sounds in a word with its spelling, explicitly teach unfamiliar or less common parts, and provide enough successful practice for recognition to become automatic.

How often should I practice reading with my child?

Consistent, focused practice is generally more useful than occasional marathon sessions. The appropriate amount will depend on the child's age, attention, skill level, and instructional needs. Aim for practice that is productive enough to build skill without making reading a daily battle.

Should children use pictures to figure out unfamiliar words?

Pictures can enrich a story and support comprehension, but children should learn to identify unfamiliar printed words through their knowledge of sounds and spellings rather than guessing the word from an illustration or context.

When should a child start reading books?

Children can begin reading simple connected text once they have enough sound-spelling knowledge to read the words successfully. Choose material that gives them opportunities to apply skills they've already learned while gradually introducing greater complexity.

What if my child isn't making progress?

Look carefully at where the reading process is breaking down and make instruction more targeted. If difficulties persist despite appropriate explicit instruction and practice, speak with the child's teacher or another qualified professional about additional support or assessment.