This paper discusses the procedures employed in compiling and coding a basic set of vocabulary words and related linguistic data intended for use in elementary communication skills instruction. Ten thousand words were selected from eight studies of words used by children at various grade levels, one through six. Each word was assigned a grade level and coded with a variety of information retrievable by computer. Separate codes were used to indicate syllables and stress, compound words, spelling-sound correspondences, affixes, affixation processes, and word bases. Tables on word frequency and the rank order of prefixes and suffixes are included. (MAI)