The 7 Essential Literacy Skills

The goal of reading is to be able to comprehend, or understand, what you are reading. Reading comprehension depends on skills in two key areas: 1) word recognition – reading words accurately and fluently and 2) language comprehension- understanding the meaning of language. This model is known as the simple view of reading

Image of a green circle which reads word recognition, a plus sign which represents when combined with, another green circle that reads language comprehension equals reading comprehension.

As parents, we know when our child is struggling to read. The issue is we don’t know WHY. Below are the 7 essential literacy skills. Knowing more about these specific skills and where a child is in relation to developing these skills helps us to know how to support a struggling reader. Select a skill to learn more and find examples of what it looks like when a child is struggling from the child’s perspective, a parent’s perspective and a teacher’s perspective and strategies to help! You can also check out our online module about the 7 Essential Literacy Skills.

- Oral Language ~ Broad skill that includes listening and speaking. It involves understanding how to say words, what words mean, and how to use words to convey wants, needs and ideas.
- Phonemic Awareness ~ Ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words.
- Phonics, including Encoding and Decoding ~ Ability to apply knowledge of letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of letter patterns.
- Fluency ~ Ability to read with speed, accuracy and proper expression both aloud and silently.
- Vocabulary ~ Ability to understand what words mean and how and when to use them when speaking and writing.
- Comprehension ~ ability to understand the topics and ideas from written and oral communication.
- Written Expression~ Ability to communicate ideas in written form.

Research also demonstrates that literacy skills tend to develop in a certain order and across typical age ranges. Below you can see what literacy skill development looks and how you can support pre-readers, early readers and older readers by clicking on the title. You can also see what literacy skills look like and how to support specific grade levels by clicking on the grade range. Please keep in mind that while the grade levels associated with each skill are to serve as a helpful reference point, they should not be viewed as rigid benchmarks for every child’s progress.

Preschool & Kindergarten

Pre-reading Skills

Oral Language

Phonemic Awareness

Written Expression

Grades 1 & 2

Early Reading Skills

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics, including Encoding & Decoding

Written Expression

Grades 3 & Up

Later Reading Skills

How do I figure out why my child is struggling with reading?

All public and public charter schools in NH are required to conduct a reading/literacy screener with all children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade. This includes children who currently receive special education or are on 504 plans. By using a screening process, schools can identify children who may be at risk for reading/literacy challenges and provide extra help and support earlier. Your child’s screening data can give you important information about why they are struggling. Visit our page on NH’s Reading Screening Process for more information.

Your child’s school may have reading/literacy interventions that support children to strengthen specific literacy skills. However, there may come a point where your child is not making enough progress in the classroom even with small group instruction and/or other reading/literacy interventions. If you suspect your child needs special education, you can make a referral for special education. You can find a sample referral letter here or you may contact the Parent Information Center to talk more about your specific situation.