This approximately 20-minute video discusses the work and the findings of the National Reading Panel, charged by Congress to assess the status of research-based knowledge, including the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read. The panel found that the most effective way to teach children to read is through systematic and explicit manipulation of phonemes in words in a balanced reading program and that children in preschool and kindergarten are capable of learning the sounds of their language and how the sounds relate to print. This knowledge of phonemes as part of an emerging reading program is critical in early reading development. The video discusses the findings of the panel in the areas of (1) alphabetics (phonemic awareness instruction and phonics instruction); (2) fluency; (3) comprehension (vocabulary instruction, text comprehension instruction, and teacher preparation and comprehension strategies instruction); (4) teacher education and reading instruction; and (5) computer technology and reading instruction. (RS)