Phonics is the development of the association between letters and sounds. Phonics skills are needed to be able to read written word. Research shows that the mastery of phonics gives children the ability to automatically decode written word when reading. Effective, explicit phonics instruction can include tracing letters in sand while saying the sound out loud, saying sounds that correspond with a letter on a flash card, guessing a missing letter in a word, and so on.
Watch the video to learn about the difference between phonemic awareness and phonics.
Here is a video of me demonstrating a multi-sensory activity to promote phonics.