"EFF HOT (Highlights on Teaching Topics) Topics" is a publication of the EFF (Equipped for the Future) Center for Training and Technical Assistance. Each issue concentrates on a specific topic, highlighting examples of actual practice and offering strategies and tools for using EFF in the classroom. In this issue, "HOT Topics" focuses on the EFF Standard "Read With Understanding" and research-based instructional practices that will help students reach their goals. Many articles in this issue are based on work carried out as part of the EFF Reading Project, a two-year partnership between the National Institute for Literacy and the National Center for Family Literacy integrating research on the teaching of reading into EFF's purposeful and contextual approach to instruction. This issue contains: (1) Up Close and Personal (Amy R. Trawick); (2) Learning to Read in English (Marilyn Gillespie); (3) Teaching/Learning Toolkit; (4) Using the EFF Teaching and Learning Cycle to Plan Reading Instruction; (5) The RWU [Read With Understanding] Diary: A Tool for Reflection and Assessment; (6) RWU Assessment Prototype; (7) Family and Child Education (FACE) Programs Participate With Purpose in the RWU Project; and (8) Online Resources. Individual articles contain references.