If a child memorizes 10 words, that child can only read 10 words. If a child learns the sounds of 10 letters, that same child will be able to read 350 three-sound words, 4,320 four-sound words, and 21,650 five-sound words. The magic lies within sound-letter correspondence. Teaching phonograms and sounding out words is the most effective way to build the pathways correlated with skilled reading.