Book excerpt: Teaching CVC words introduces children to the magic of transforming simple sounds into words and is an integral part of any pre-reading program. The goal is for kids to use their knowledge of individual letter sounds to blend those sounds together and create a whole word, not just three individual sounds. Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. Beginning readers must use the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print. A robust vocabulary improves all areas of communication -- listening, speaking, reading and writing. Vocabulary is critical to a child's success for these reasons: ... Vocabulary helps children to think and learn about the world. Expanding a child's knowledge of words provides unlimited access to new information.