This collection includes essays on individualizing reading (IR) and the language arts and individualizing social studies in elementary school education. Several essays explain the purposes of IR. Teachers who have used such a program explain how they did it and why they felt it successful. Supplementing these essays are reports of individualized spelling and speech programs, reading programs for the disadvantaged and slow reader, and the use of IR as part of an eclectic reading program. A comparison of IR versus a basal reader in a rural community is presented. Research comparing IR and ability grouping is summarized which concludes that there is no significant difference in achievement as a result of either method. Essays on social studies instruction present rationales for and possible approaches to individualized instruction. Specific topics include individualizing instruction in the primary grades, a nongraded program for grades four through six, and automation in social studies instruction. Other essays deal with values in education and the inquiry approach. The social studies section deals more with theory and less with actual programs than does the reading section. (JK)