Only 50% of English words are spelled the way they sound phonetically.  Phonetics is important but it is not enough on its own.   Children definitely need to be able to turn print into sound especially when they come to difficult words they've never encountered before, no matter what the letter combinations are.  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

A. LETTER GROUPS:

When teaching letter sounds, it is important to break the alphabet into groups, beginning with consonants first. There is no wrong or right grouping. The following is a suggested method that has worked in many classrooms for years:

1. Set I (s, t, b, h)
2. Set 2 (m, j, k, f)
3. Set 3 ( g, 1, n, d)
4. Set 4 (w, c, r, p)
5. Set 5 (q, v, x, y, z)

B. ALPHABET CARDS:

Using the first group of letters, introduce the name of the letter and the sound it makes. Continue on to the next group of letters, once the child masters the first grouping. When teaching the sounds of the letters "g" and "c," introduce the hard sound, such as "c"- cat, can, etc., "g"goat, gate, etc.

C. LETTER ACTIVITIES:

Children can engage in learning the beginning sounds of the letters.  Parents can further help by playing games with the child. 

1. Choose a letter (example: b) the child names an item that begins with that letter (bug ).  

2. Parent chooses an item (example: dog) have the child name the letter (d) of  that item.

D. MATCHING OBJECTS TO LETTERS:

A box containing lowercase letters and small objects that begin with the sound of the initial consonant. The child lays out the letters first, then matches an object to the correct beginning letter sound. Start with a few objects, adding more as the child becomes more confident.

h	b	s	t