Teachers use phonics to develop literacy in students by introducing sounds as signals for decoding words. Schools have used phonics on and off since the 19th century as an alternative to the whole-language approach to reading instruction. Promoters of phonics argue that it gives students the basic tools for decoding and reading words rather than just memorizing the words. By using creative ways to teach phonics in classrooms, teachers equip students with these decoding skills and set them up for reading success.

Phonics Tree
The book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault tells the story of lowercase letters climbing and falling from a tree and the uppercase parents who tend to their injuries. In the story, each letter sustain an injury that begins with its sound, such as a bruise for the letter B. Teachers can recreate the story in class and also provide a place to reflect on letter sounds by posting a phonics tree on the door or wall. Use brown and green bulletin board paper and to form the shape of a tree and tape alphabet cut-outs on it to represent the letters in the story. Invite students to write words on index cards and file them under the letter they begin with to demonstrate how sounds form words.

Whole-to-Parts Phonics
Whole-to-parts phonics instruction breaks words into two parts: the leading consonant and the vowels and consonants that follow. This method of teaching literacy familiarizes students with word families and patterns in spelling. Write the nursery rhyme "Jack and Jill" on the board and ask the children to find the rhyming words in the story. Use the words "Jill" and "hill" to illustrate whole-to-parts phonics by asking the students to brainstorm other words that have an "ill" sound. Once they complete a list, work on forming sentences using the words, such as "Will Jill take a pill when ill?"

Phonics Games
Playing phonics games in the classroom invites students to learn by doing and gives them a positive impression of literacy. Play the "sound soup" game by preparing a pretend soup during group time. The children will all have a turn to approach the soup pot and toss in a pretend ingredient that begins with the letter of the week. They might add salt and strawberries for a pot of "S soup" or use silly ingredients, such as socks or slime. Write down the recipes created for each letter to compose a classroom "sound soup" book. Students can also pretend to take a trip while going through the sounds of the alphabet. The first child will pack an item that begins with letter A, the next student will use letter B and they will continue finding items up to the letter Z.

Everyday Phonics
Finding creative ways to consistently integrate phonics into the daily classroom routine builds reading skills in a casual way. Use transitions as opportunities to introduce phonics by asking children to line up based on the first letter of their names or assigning them to work in learning centers that begin with certain letters. Involving parents by explaining to them the meaning of phonics instruction extends language development beyond the classroom. Ask them to reinforce phonics instruction at home and allow their children to bring in items that represent different sounds.