Many other children are not so fortunate. Therefore, preschool and primary grade teachers need to read aloud to children daily, read and reread patterned and easy books with the children chiming in as they can, offer daily opportunities for children to read by themselves or with a friend, and discuss books with the children. Many children will also need help learning to use everything they know to make sense of print. It includes noticing when what's read is not making sense, and using various means to get words and meaning. Teaching phonics first is the best way to teach reading.
Some children lose track of the fact that reading is supposed to make sense.
Children who haven't already learned this in the home are especially disadvantaged by phonics first. Many children have difficulty learning and then applying phonics, especially when it is taught first and in isolation. They do better when phonics is taught in the context of their own reading and writing. Such chunks are ones the children have encountered in familiar print words. Research shows that children who receive intensive systematic phonics instruction get off to a better start as readers.