A word attack program that begins with phonics and incorporates various aspects of a linguistics approach is described in this paper. Regardless of the material that is used, there are 13 consonant sounds which are easier to learn than others: b, d, j, f, k, p, t, l, m, n, r, v, and z. W and h would be introduced next because in isolation they make only one sound. The remaining six consonants are different because they consist of more than one sound. The blends should be introduced next, emphasizing that these are letters which go together. Short vowel sounds would follow because they are easily controlled, easier for the students to identify, and require only one vowel rule to be learned. After the short vowels, children would be introduced to the long vowel sounds. After vowel sounds are learned, special combinations are introduced. These combinations are digraphs, diphthongs, "r" controlled, etc. Finally, the second sound the additional six consonants make would be introduced. (WR)