An attempt to build on oral language programs--such as the language experience approach--by adding a written language component and a phonics component, to make transition to reading more meaningful and reading skill development more systematic, was undertaken in the study described here. The program, called DIREKT, was conducted by two kindergarten teachers and included two stages. The first involved activities related to auditory and visual memory and discrimination; left-to-right progression; labelling; rhyming; matching and sequencing of words, phrases, and sentences; and word and sentence rearranging. Stage two was designed for more formal and direct instruction using reading charts, practice on closure skills, introduction of letter sounds, and word banks. The program was considered a success, with the children in the two experimental classrooms scoring at the 72 percentile and the 68 percentile on the Comprehensive Tests of Basic Skills (CTBS) Reading Test at the end of the school year. Support materials, including a classroom activity schedule, lesson sequences, and a skills checklist, accompany the report. (LJR)