Children’s failure to develop simple word decoding skills in early years is linked to future poor reading, school dropout, and poor health [1] [2]. Letter-sound knowledge is needed for word decoding development; however questions remain on what types of letter-sound knowledge help children decode simple words [3]. This study investigated the differences in mean number of consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words decoded between two groups of children, a letter-sound reading group and non letter-sound reading group. Children aged 4 to 6 in both groups, attempted to decode a variety of simple words such as tan, sit, hen, pig, dot, and fun. Analysis determined word decoding differences existed between the two groups. The alternate hypothesis was accepted; the letter-sound reading group had a significantly higher mean in number of consonant-vowel-consonant words decoded compared to the non letter-sound reading group. The study informs the teaching approaches needed to improve early decoding skills showing letter-sound reading ability is an important step for learning to decode simple consonant-vowel-consonant words.