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Phonemic awareness is having the ability to identify and manipulate phonemes (the smallest unit of sound).  This pillar is said to be called the pre-requisite to reading.

Rhyming is a way to practice phonemic awareness. Reading any Dr. Seuss book and having the kids remember a set of rhyming words is on example of how to use rhyming to help reinforce reading. To help reinforce the connection between reading and writing, the teacher could start with having the kids write the word "cat" and then ask them how they would change the word to "bat". The teacher could repeat this instruction and eventually lead to changing the beginning and middle sound of the words, for example: "cat" becomes "cab" or "cut".

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Phonics is making the connection between speech and print.  It is understanding the relationship between the letters and the different sounds.  However, it is not just about letters and sounds.  It is being able to spell correctly  by making words with letters.

Phonics can be reinforced in reading and writing with single phoneme instruction.  In this example, I roll three different dice to determine a CVC word.  My students first say the phonemes out loud before writing the letters.
The photo below shows the exercise practiced in the classroom.

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Fluency is being able to read both quickly and correctly.  In other words, it is how many words a student reads per minute.

Guided Reading is a way to help reinforce fluency while reading. During GR, the teacher could first model for the student. By doing this, the student is not only seeing the words that the teacher is reading but is also hearing them. The student would then practice with the teacher support until the student was fluent with that book.
To help support writing with fluency the teacher could have the students trace and eventually write site words for practice.

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"Comprehension is the "essence of reading"' states one reading researcher in the Reading Rockets, Reading Comprehension.  Comprehension is not just dependent on being able to understand what is being read, it also includes fluency, vocabulary and the readers background knowledge.

Visual imagery can be used in the classroom during reading to help reinforce comprehension in the classroom.  The teacher could start by having all of the student close their eyes and imagine themselves as a character in the book.  At different moments, the teacher could stop and ask the student to describe the image they have in their minds.

After finishing the book, the teacher could have the students draw a picture about their favorite image they created and then write down what it is they are drawing the picture of.

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Vocabulary are the words that a student knows, or their "word bank".  In order to be able to communicate clearly and effectively one needs to have a good vocabulary.

Teaching new vocabulary can be accomplished while taking a picture walk thru before reading an appropriate leveled book.  During a picture walk thru, the student uses the pictures to help determine what the new word could be.  For example, in the picture below, I instructed the student to use the picture to help figure out the word "doctor".  The student first thought the picture showed a nurse; however, with using the text and our phonics, the student knew that "nurse" started with the letter 'N' and we needed to keep thinking about what our new word was.