PROJECT LITERACY IS A GROUP OF COOPERATING RESEARCHERS WHO PLAN THEIR RESEARCH TOGETHER AND MAKE THEIR FINDINGS RAPIDLY AVAILABLE FOR SMALL-SCALE TRYOUTS. IN THIS WAY, ADVANCES BOTH IN BASIC EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE CAN BE PROMOTED. THE FOLLOWING ASSUMPTIONS HAVE GUIDED A GROUP OF RESEARCHERS AT CORNELL--READING INVOLVES SAMPLING THE WRITTEN TEXT AND SAMPLING IMPLIES THE ACTIVE PROCESSING OF SOME INFORMATION. SAMPLING DEPENDS ON SUCH CHARACTERISTICS AS SPACING, TYPE ALIGNMENT, ON THE DIFFICULTY OF THE MATERIAL, ON GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE, ON THE INTENTION OF THE READER, AND REFLECTS THE SKILL OF THE READER. STUDIES OF SPACING BETWEEN WORDS, THE EFFECTS OF GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE ON READING, AND EYE-VOICE SPAN IN READING ACTIVE AND PASSIVE SENTENCES ARE DISCUSSED. IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE CHILD SHOULD BE EXPOSED TO MIXED STRATEGIES EARLY IN THE BEGINNING READING STAGE. FAMILIARITY WITH VARIOUS CUES IN COMPLEX COMBINATION, INCLUDING PHONIC, GRAMMATICAL, AND MEANING ASPECTS OF THE MATERIALS, LEADS TO MATURE READING BEHAVIOR. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE 31ST EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCE SPONSORED BY THE EDUCATIONAL RECORDS BUREAU, NEW YORK, OCTOBER 28, 1966. (JM)