A study compared the teaching methods of basal readers to writing/reading integration as they effect reading comprehension. Forty fourth-grade students from an urban area of New England completed the Reading Comprehension Subtest of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) for grade 3 as a pretest. A control group of 20 students were instructed throughout the entire fourth-grade year in reading solely with the HBJ Basal Reading Program. The experimental group of 20 students also completed the HBJ Basal Reading Program on the fourth-grade level but additionally were instructed in a wide range of writing activities based on trade books. Both groups were then given the fourth-grade Reading Comprehension Subtest of the CTBS after the nine-month period. The experimental group did not score significantly higher than the control group on the 45 multiple-choice responses based on a variety of comprehension questions. Analysis done with an independent t-test indicated that students who practiced and strengthened their comprehension skills by using writing activities displayed no difference in comprehension skills measured by a multiple-choice format. (Two tables of data are included, 15 references are attached, and appendixes containing statistical analysis, curriculum objectives, and basal reader scope and sequence are provided.) (Author/SR)