If your child has difficulty reading or spelling, the most important thing you can do is make sure that he knows the sounds that the letters make. It is surprising how many children have not been taught this basic skill in school, but it is critical that they learn the sounds.

First teach your child the sounds of the letters “a” through “z.” Most of the letters have just one sound. For example, the sound of the letter b is /b/ (as in the first sound you hear in the word bat). The sound of the letter d is /d/.

Other letters have two or more sounds. The letter c has two sounds: /k/ and /s/. The letter e has two sounds: short e (as in the word enter) and long e (as in the word even).

Here are some important notes:

1. All sounds of a given letter should be taught at the same time.

2. Make sure to say the “pure” sound of the letter. Say “/p/”, not /puh/, and “/d/,” not /duh/.

3. Don’t teach “keywords” with the sounds. That means that we shouldn’t teach the child that “n says /n/ as in nest.” And don’t teach the sounds through pictures or songs. We want the child to have instant recall: he should see the letter and be able to give the sound(s) instantly, without having to think of keywords or pictures or songs.

4. For the letters which have more than one sound: say the sounds in succession, with the most common sound said first and the least common sounds said last. For example, the letter s has two sounds: /s/ and /z/. The sound of /s/ is the most common sound of s, and z is the least common sound. The student should learn to see the letter s and say, “/s/-/z/” without hesitation. Work with him until he can say the sounds automatically, without hesitation.

After the student knows the sounds of the letters a through z, work on the very common letter combinations th, sh, ch, and ck.

The letter and letter combinations we have been talking about are called “phonograms.” A phonogram is a letter or letter combination which represents a sound. For a complete listing of the 72 basic phonograms and how to teach them, see this page on phonograms.

When a student knows the sounds that the phonograms make, he will be ready to learn how to blend them together to make words. Letter tiles are a great tool for teaching this skill. The next article in this series, coming soon, will describe how to use these manipulatives to teach your student how to read words.