This study compared 5 groups (45 each) of disadvantaged first grade children learning to read 16 basic sight vocabulary words. The subjects were enrolled in 1 of 16 classrooms on three campuses of a school district in Texas located on the southern border between the United States and Mexico. Furthermore, all spoke Spanish as their first language. None could read Spanish or English prior to training but each had developed a listening and speaking vocabulary in English. Each group was designated by type of stimuli used in training. All stimuli patterns had in common the presentation of each word in printed form and presentation of each word by audiotape reproduction. Results were analyzed for four variables: stimuli patterns, sex of the students, word length, and similar and dissimilar words. The most effective stimuli pattern was that utilizing the greatest number of stimuli. However, an analysis of variance did not reveal a statistically significant difference at the .05 level for any of the four variables. (Author/LL)