An intense debate exists around the most beneficial and successful method for teaching young children how to read. On the one side is sight-reading or the look-say method which promotes learning to read by immediate recognition of words learned through "memorization." In contrast to the sight method, the phonics method aims at teaching children the "skills" necessary to "decode" any words that may present themselves. This paper examines both phonics and sight-reading to ascertain which method proves more beneficial in giving children the necessary tools to read. The paper first reviews the literature and then finds that the research illustrates that the teaching of phonics is crucial for reading development, because, unlike sight-reading, phonics offers children the ability to decode words. It concludes that current teachers and new teachers need to receive phonics-based training and school districts need to increase funding for phonics programs. (NKA)