The Flow of Reading

There is a progression of reading skills.  Students must master each skill before they take on a new one. As adults, we take for granted a lot of these skills. They come so naturally to us that we do not even think the these skills may be diffucult for children.  
Below you will see a flow chart that I have created to show the progression. 

The first 7 skills can be practiced orally.  A ride in the car or a walk around the neighborhood can be used to ask questions such as 

Rhyming 

"Do red and bed rhyme?" 

"What's a word that rhymes with dog?"

Alliteration 

"Does house and pig start with the same sound? "

"What is a word that starts the same as house?"

Syllables

"How many syllables are in your name?

Clap them out".  "

Onset /Rime

"What is the first sound you hear in cat?  (/C/) What's left in the word now?" (/at/)

Blending

"What am I saying (then say one sound at a time for a word) ? /s/ /u/ /n/

Manipulation

"Say pat.  What if the first sound was /s/?" (Sat)