the phonics method

I taught reading to my big A using following steps of phonics:

Letter sound relationship
e.g. Z sounds /z/ as in zebra

Rhyming
e.g. Zat, the cat; a pot on the cot. The child should be able to point out the rhyming words - Zat and cat, pot and cot.

Blending
e.g. listening to the individual sounds of /z/ /a/ /t/ and then joining them into a word - Zat.

Segmentation
e.g. listening to the word "Zat", and then being able to seperate it into three sounds - /z/ /a/ /t/.

Substitution
e.g replacing the initial sound of /z/ in the word Zat, with another sound, for example /m/, to make a new word- Mat.

In simple terms, it begins with teaching letters of the alphabet and their sounds. First, the short vowel sounds followed by the long vowels. Then comes developing the child's phonetic awareness through various fun filled activities. Next, teach them two letter words, followed by three letter words. At this point, it is a good time to introduce sight words. After all of this is done, the child is ready to attempt reading small sentences. Next, teach him word blends, and finally longer words that are made up of 4 or more letters.

The foundation of this process is teaching the child, the letters of the alphabet and their sounds. However simple it may sound, this is the most difficult step and has to be undertaken to make reading possible. Only when your child has mastered the letter-sound relationship, he is ready for the next step. It may take, on an average 2 to 4 months, for a child to master the letter sounds, but do not be disheartened if it takes longer.