Emergent and beginning readers demonstrate many predictable behaviors in the kindergarten classroom, yet every child is making sense out of print in his or her own way. The job of the kindergarten teacher is to help each child to continue developing as a reader and writer. Reading and writing materials are accessible and usable throughout a print-rich classroom environment. Children's growth and development in reading and writing can be supported by using a natural learning classroom model (consisting of Demonstration, Participation, Practice/Role Play, and Performance) for organizing the day and planning for groups and individual children. The goal for kindergarten teachers in such classrooms is for their students to become independent readers and writers for a variety of purposes. Such teachers want their children to become self-motivated, self-directed, self-regulated learners within a community of learners. (RS)