The five essential components of reading are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. Each literacy component is equally important in reading and is explicitly taught.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic Awareness is the general understanding of how language can be divided into components. Students need to be able to hear and identify sounds in a word. Students should be able to manipulate the sounds without looking at the print, therefore, this is done orally. A great way to help your child at home is rhyming words, isolating the first, middle, or end sound of a word.
Phonics
Phonics is the relationship with spoken sounds and written letters. Students need to know their letter sounds. There are 44 different sounds in the English and 38 in French. Students will be understand the basics of decoding simple words and spelling patterns. A great way to help your child at home is by ensuring your child has a firm understanding of the letter-sound relationship.
Fluency
Fluency means you can read text accurately, smoothly and with expression. Students who read fluently do not need to stop and decode words; students can focus on what the words are saying instead of figuring the words out. A great way to help your child at home is by having your child re-reading text out loud.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary means students understand words, either orally or through print. Oral vocabulary are words we hear when talking with someone. Print vocabulary are written words we read. Students are unconsciously building their vocabularies all the time. A great way to help your child at home is by reading aloud, having conversations with them and introducing them to new words.
Comprehension
Comprehension is the ability to understand, remember and make meaning of what has been read. Students need to be able to identify main ideas and thoughts when reading text, academically and personally. A great way to help your child at home is by having your child explain what they are reading: Who are the characters? What did that character do? What did you learn in this book?
For more information Reading 101: A Guide for Parents