Phonics teaches learners how to match the letters of the alphabet to the speech sounds they already know. At age five, children who are ready to learn to read have a vocabulary of some 5,000 words and understand far more than that when they hear them. The problem is that there are 44 sounds in English and only 26 letters in the alphabet. Phonics programs begin with the most regular forms and proceed to the exceptions after the learner has grasped the general principles of how the alphabet represents the sounds of speech. Reading of sentences and stories can begin before a phonics program is completed, using sight words, adults reading to the child as the child watches the book, and bedtime books of early years memorized by the child. Over the centuries learning how to use systematic phonics has proven to be a useful way to learn to read. Phonics can be mastered in a matter of months to the point where a child can read anything he or she can understand. (Contains 12 references.) (RS)