A LANGUAGE ARTS APPROACH TO BEGINNING READING INSTRUCTION WAS COMPARED WITH A BASIC READER APPROACH. IN GENERAL, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE LANGUAGE ARTS APPROACH TO BEGINNING READING INSTRUCTION WAS AN EFFECTIVE METHOD. IT PRODUCED EXCELLENT RESULTS IN READING PERFORMANCE, WORD ATTACK SKILLS, SPELLING, VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION AS PROMOTED BY CREATIVE WRITING, AND IN HANDWRITING. FURTHERMORE, THE TECHNIQUE CAN BE USED EFFECTIVELY WITH ALL CHILDREN. (LP)