Addressing subjects ranging from reading readiness to phonics, this book examines several fundamental elements of beginning reading instruction. Divided into 12 chapters, the book begins with a chapter providing a general overview of reading instruction, including the debate between the perception of reading as decoding or comprehension, and other current concerns in teaching reading. The second chapter discusses different activities for encouraging early readers, such as questioning techniques and rereading favorite books. In the third chapter, diverse classifications of early learning processes are presented, with discussions focusing on incremental learning, the criterion of difficulty, and Albert North Whitehead's theory of necessary antecedents. Other chapters consist of: (1) "When Are Children Ready to Read?" (2) "How Computers Help Children Learn to Read"; (3) "The Language Experience Approach to Teaching Reading"; (4) "Phonics and Reading Instruction"; (5) "Linguistics and Reading Instruction"; (6) "Learning from Misreadings: A Look at Miscue Analysis"; (7) "Dialects and Early Reading Instruction"; (8) "The Pros and Cons of Basal Readers"; and (9) "Reading's Past and Future." (Twenty pages of footnotes are appended.) (MM)