AN INNOVATIVE, BEGINNING-READING PROGRAM WAS EVALUATED DURING A 1-YEAR PERIOD OF CLASSROOM RESEARCH ACTIVITY. THE PROGRAM HAD BEEN DEVELOPED AS A PART OF "PROJECT LITERACY," A BASIC RESEARCH AND CURRICULUM-DEVELOPMENT EFFORT IN AREAS OF EDUCATION RELEVANT TO THE ACQUISITION OF LITERACY SKILLS. THE EVALUATION WAS CONDUCTED IN A FIRST-GRADE CLASSROOM CONTAINING A HETEROGENEOUS GROUP OF 23 CHILDREN. CHILDREN'S OWN STORIES, TEACHER'S SENTENCES, TRADE BOOKS, TEXTBOOKS, MESSAGES FROM ONE CHILD TO ANOTHER, BULLETIN-BOARD TITLES, WORKSHEETS, RIDDLES, CROSSWORD PUZZLES, AND STORIES COMPOSED BY THE "PROJECT LITERACY" STAFF WERE USED TO ALLOW THE CHILD THE FULL RANGE OF SAMPLING NECESSARY FOR READING IN VARIOUS SITUATIONS. A LETTER PHONICS PROGRAM WAS INTEGRATED WITH THE READING INSTRUCTION FOR THE SLOWER-MOVING READERS. TO CREATE A LITERATE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH WAS THE PROGRAM'S FIRST OBJECTIVE, SUCH ITEMS AS A MESSAGE BOARD, A TAPE RECORDER, AND AN ELECTRIC TYPEWRITER WERE PROVIDED. NO SHARP DEMARCATION WAS MADE AMONG THE ACTIVITIES OF READING, LISTENING, AND WRITING. DURING EACH OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL PERIODS, THESE ACTIVITIES WERE INTERSPERSED AMONG SUBGROUPS OF CHILDREN. ALL OF THE PARTICIPATING CHILDREN LEARNED TO READ. EVEN THE SLOWER READERS WERE READING COMFORTABLY AT A FIRST-GRADE LEVEL AT THE YEAR'S END, AND MOST WERE READING ABOVE GRADE LEVEL. A SECOND-YEAR PROGRAM WITH TWO FIRST-GRADE CLASSROOMS WAS PLANNED. A RELATED REPORT IS AA 000 022. (JH)