What Are the First Phonics Skills Children Should Learn?

Reading is like a big mountain to climb — but everyone has to take small steps to begin. You have seen phonics when you've ever seen a child point to a word and attempt to "sound it out. Phonics is just the way that children learn that letters make sounds and sounds can be combined to make words. 

As a parent, teacher or caregiver, you might not know where to begin; this guide explains the first phonics skills children should learn, in the correct order, and provides tips and easy words to use at home.

What Is Phonics and Why Does It Matter?

Phonics is the link between letters (what we see) and sounds (what we hear). A child who learns phonics learns that the letter B represents the sound /b/, and that the sounds /b/, /a/, /t/ are combined to make the word “bat”. 

Phonics is a skill that reading experts all agree is one of the most important skills for early readers. Phonemic awareness is the first sound skill that children learn, before letters are introduced, and is the skill of listening to and playing with sounds in words. 

Phonics helps children to correlate the sounds they hear and play with the letters on a page. This is known as the "alphabetic principle," and is the basis of all reading.

Building Blocks: Skills Before Phonics

Most children first learn to play with sounds by using only their ears, before they start to read letters. This is called phonemic awareness and typically precedes formal phonics instruction.

Simple activities that build this skill include:

• Clapping the syllables of a word (such as "el-e-phant") 

• Identifying words that begin with the same sound (cat, cup, car) 

• Rhyming games (cat, hat, mat) 

• Guessing a word by combining sounds that a parent says slowly (m-o-p = mop)

These fun games with no visuals prepare a child's ears. When they can hear sounds clearly, they are ready to link sounds to letters — and that's where phonics really starts.

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First Phonics Skills Children Should Learn (Step by Step)

The following table illustrates the typical sequence children learn when they are learning to read, starting with the initial step and progressing through to reading whole sentences.

This is a step-by-step approach that is followed in most classrooms and in good phonics reading books; begin small, build confidence and then add complexity.

Letter Sounds Before Letter Names

Many parents are surprised to learn that children will learn letter sounds before they learn the names of the letters. If a child knows that A represents /a/, he or she can read the word "apple" but not if A represents /ay/. 

The majority of teaching methods begin with a limited number of simple common letters (s, a, t, p, i, n) rather than all 26 letters in alphabetical order. This allows kids to begin blending real words much sooner. 

This stage can be made much easier and visual for little learners with a good phonics sound book where a picture is followed by a letter and the corresponding sound.

Blending Sounds Into 3 Letter Words

After mastering a few letter sounds, the next major step is blending. This is where phonics becomes "real reading. 

Blending is saying each sound and then squishing together:

• /c/ + /a/ + /t/ = cat

• /d/ + /o/ + /g/ = dog

• /s/ + /u/ + /n/ = sun

That's why 3 letter word books are so popular with beginning readers — they provide children with just enough words to practice blending without overwhelming them. Words with only a few letters, such as cat, pig, hen, and bug, are ideal first "wins" to help build confidence in reading.

Choosing the Right Phonics Books for Kids

When a child is beginning to read, not every book is the same. The right books for children to use in their phonics lessons should be at the correct level — not too difficult and not too easy.

If you are selecting the best phonics books for your child, you should choose those that have frequent repetition of sounds, vivid illustrations and refrain from using words that are too difficult or "sight" words at a too early a age. Repetition enables the brain to learn patterns quicker and develops real reading fluency over time. 

Brands such as Lil Legends create early learning books with this gradual approach in mind, introducing simple sounds, images and short words for children to build confidence, one small win at a time, rather than full sentences.

Summary

The journey to reading begins small — first by hearing and playing with sounds, then matching sounds to letters, and finally blending sounds into simple words, such as cat, dog, and sun. The order is important: letter sounds then blending then short words then patterns and sentences. This journey can be smoother and more enjoyable for children and parents if they choose simple, well-designed phonics books such as a clear phonics sound book or a set of easy 3 letter word books. Every child can develop a solid and confident beginning to reading with patience, repetition and a little daily practice.