A task analysis of the conceptual skills prerequisite to learning to read by a phonics-based method is made in an attempt to distinguish these skills from reading's component skills. The model for task analysis presented by Gagne, in which a cumulative learning of prerequisite conceptual skills is assumed, is used. The analysis deals primarily with Gibson's second and third stages of the reading process: learning to discriminate graphemes and phonemes and learning the rules of grapheme-phoneme correspondence. After the skill descriptions are made, the skills are classified according to type of concept skill (i.e., concepts, rules, and strategies) which are prerequisite to learning the component skills of knowing and using the rules of correspondence. The prerequisite conceptual skills which are task analyzed are (1) multiple discrimination and association, (2) concept of class, (3) information reduction, (4) sequential rules, and (5) logical rules. Related issues which are discussed are (1) inductive and deductive techniques and (2) organized access and use of memory. Prospects for further research are discussed, and a 130-item bibliography is included. (Author/CM)