An illustrative taxonomy for some patterns for initially stressed two-syllable words which can be used in word attack instruction is presented and discussed in this paper. It is designed to be a part of an integrated communication skills program produced by Southwest Regional Laboratory (SWRL). Examples of word patterns whose primary dimension of classification is word ending are listed. The terminal design requirement was to sequence letter-sound rules used in phonics-based word attack instruction so as to optimize the rate at which items from the speech lexicon become decodable and hence potentially items of the sight lexicon. Thus, since a majority of the two-syllable words of English are initially stressed, variations of this pattern are suggested for introduction systematically and early in reading instruction. (MKM)