This document is a report of a symposium whose participants are involved with the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy Development, a project engaged in a longitudinal study of 80 low-income families with preschool-aged children in Boston (Massachusetts). The project was designed to identify possible success factors for children from low-income families who develop appropriate literacy skills by the third or fourth grade. The first paper, by Catherine E. Snow, discusses current research on reading development; differences between the project's work and previous research on the determinants of literacy development; the theoretical basis for the larger research plan; information about the families and children in the sample; and an overview of data collection and analysis procedures. The second paper, by Jeanne M. De Temple and Diane E. Beals, focuses on social supports for literacy development in the home and examines data drawn from talk that occurred during four activities involving children and their mothers. The third paper, by David K. Dickinson and Miriam W. Smith, concerns typical language and literacy experiences of children in preschool classrooms at the ages of 3 and 4 years. The fourth paper, by David K. Dickinson and Patton O. Tabors, analyzes a series of tests that were developed for the project and administered to children to assess aspects of their language and literacy development. A reference list cites about 50 items. The protocol for the School-Home Early Language and Literacy Battery--Kindergarten (SHELL-K) is appended. (SH)