A 3-year Harlem project in which 5-year-olds from socially disadvantaged backgrounds were taught an interrelated hierarchy of beginning reading skills utilizing the Edison Responsive Environments instrument (talking typewriter) was reported. The investigation differed from O. K. Moore's approach in three ways: (1) parsimonious use of instructional time and machines, (2) concern with developing a reproducible set of instructional events rather than individualized programing, and (3) a strong emphasis on engineering an attentional environment rather than a discovery environment. Consequently, emphasis was on development of instructional, behavioral, and motivational strategies. Tutorial strategies were designed to facilitate adapting lesson sequence to nonmechanical or nontechnological modalities. Reading skills are presented in detail as behavioral objectives and programing paradigms related to teaching these skills are described. Two validation studies and a transfer study are reported. Charts, tables, and references are included. (WB)