phonics

I found the readings for this week to be way over my head. I didn't realize that reading how to teach reading via phonics can be so confusing. However, I did take some good ideas for phonics activities from Cunnigham and Allington in ch. 5 of the textbook. I never understood how the "guess the covered word" game works but I liked the idea of the "using words you know" activity. I think it's great for students to rely on words they do know and use their knowledge to find other words that have shared letters/letter patterns/beginnings/endings. The "making words" game was also a good idea for students to be able to use what they know to build bigger words they may have never written before. The book, as well as the articles, focus on the importance of breaking words down into sections that look familiar and then piecing them together. It also discusses how sounding out words is crucial to reading unfamiliar words. Both of these skills are important in helping students to read.
Which phonics activities do you think would be most beneficial in teaching students how to read and write in your classroom?

Here is a link to an early literacy tool: phonetic flip charts
http://kidsactivitiesblog.com/phonic-flip-chart/