THE NATURE, FUNCTIONS, AND TRANSITIONAL STAGE OF THE INITIAL TEACHING ALPHABET (I.T.A.) IN BEGINNING READING IN THE UNITED STATES ARE DISCUSSED. THE MEDIUM, I.T.A., WAS ORIGINALLY CONCEIVED AS A TRANSITIONAL ALPHABET, OF WHICH SPELLING IS AN INTEGRAL PART. THE MEDIUM IS DESIGNED TO RATIONALIZE THE DECODING PROCESS AND AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR EASY TRANSITION TO TRADITIONAL ORTHOGRAPHY (T.O.). METHODS FOR USING I.T.A. IN TEACHING READING ARE THE SAME AS THOSE USED WITH T.O. IN DEVELOPING MATERIALS. OPTIONS ARE TO TRANSLATE EXISTENT T.O., TO PRODUCE NEW MATERIALS, OR TO DEVELOP MATERIALS ATTEMPTING TO UTILIZE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE NEW MEDIUM. THE NEW MATERIALS DEVISED BY TANYZER AND MAZURKIEWICZ CONTAIN DISCRETE FEATURES WHICH DIFFERENTIATE THEM FROM TYPICAL BASAL READERS. INITIAL READING AND WRITING ACTIVITIES, DEVELOPING AND EXTENDING SKILLS, AND TRANSITION IN READING, WRITING, AND SPELLING ARE DISCUSSED. REFERENCES ARE INCLUDED. (BK)