The effects of the Edison Responsive Environment, a computerized typewriter on the development of primary reading skills are discussed. Subjects were 27 3- and 4-year-old children from lower and middle socioeconomic classes. A three-phase program taught these children to relate the names of letters to their upper- and lowercase graphic symbols, to form words from these letters, and to develop a sight vocabulary for typed letters, words, and stories. Research data from the 12 pre- and post-tested children indicated that after 5 months they could recognize all uppercase letters and some lowercase letters. They could type and recognize their own names. There was no significant difference in language facility development, and there were no significant differences between the performances of children from the different socioeconomic classes, even though a 17-point discrepancy in IQ was noted. It was concluded that the children did acquire primary reading skills through the use of this machine. Teaching machines are recommended for young children whose attention spans are short. References are included. (BS)