ABSTRACT
Beginning reading programs, designed and developed by commercial publishers, have an important influence on both the chances that children will learn to read and the speed and ease of their learning to read. Although the implementation of these programs undoubtedly varies with individual teachers, there is evidence (Diederich, 1973) that the content sequence and instructional strategies specified in the teacher’s manuals accompanying these programs heavily influence teachers’ classroom behavior. Our personal experiences support this evidence and indicate that the type of basic program is an ingredient that strongly shapes the nature of classroom reading practices. Our analysis of two beginning reading programs is one way of documenting the form of that shaping. We are keenly aware, however, that data about programs are not data about actual teaching procedures in beginning reading classrooms.
