This bulletin is based upon a conference on beginning reading instruction which brought together professional leaders in the field of reading and related disciplines. Their purpose was to report on research and to review a variety of practices on primary reading. Keynoting the conference, one of America's foremost reading authorities gives a historical review of beginning reading practices since 1900. This publication is international in scope, bringing together reports from Canada and England, as well as from the United States. The conference began with welcoming remarks by Wayne O. Reed, Deputy Commissioner of Education. The first section, Overview of Teaching Practices, Past and Present, includes: (1) Trends in Beginning Reading Since 1900 (Nila B. Smith); (2) Current Reading Practices in the United States (Mary C. Austin); (3) The Child From 3 to 8, With Implications for Reading (Frances Ilg); and (4) A Modern Reading Program for Young Children (William D. Sheldon). The next section, Experimental Programs in England and the United States, presents: (1) Beginning Reading with the Augmented Roman (John A. Downing); (2) Reading in the Kindergarten (Joseph E. Brzeinski); and (3) The Language Experience Approach (R. V. Allen). The third section, Recent Research on Beginning Reading Instruction in the United States and Canada, contains: (1) Learning Factors in Beginning Reading (Donald D. Durrell); (2) Children Who Read Before First Grade (Dolores Durkin); (3) The Language of Elementary School Children (Ruth G. Strickland); (4) Explorations for Instructional Design in Early Reading Programs (A. R. MacKinnon); and (5) Young Children's Thinking and the Teaching of Reading (Millie C. Almy). Lastly, A Look Ahead provides: (1) By the Reading Specialist (Arthur I. Gates); (2) By the Teacher Educator (Amy Hostler); (3) By the Curriculum Planner (Grace A. Dorsey); and (4) By the Research Director (Helen M. Robinson). A list of conference participants is appended. Individual papers contain bibliographies. (Contains 42 footnotes, 3 tables, and 3 figures.) [Best copy available has been provided.]