June Orton states, “Readiness training for phonics will include the development of good speech patterns and oral vocabulary, visual differentiation of letter shapes, auditory discrimination of speech sounds, motor control of pencil and paper, awareness of laterality and left-to-right directionality, general perceptual-motor skills.” (Orton, A Guide to Teaching Phonics, Educators Publishing Service, 1976).  For more information on phonological and phonemic awareness, read here.