The first volume of this final report of a large study that detailed the day-to-day workings of, and student response to, two philosophically different approaches to reading readiness as they were used in six Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) kindergartens reports on the literate environment approach. The background section explains that this approach consists of (1) periods in which children can pretend read, discuss books with friends, or print; (2) time for teachers and volunteers to read and reread stories to the children; (3) follow-up activities related to those stories, including dramatizations; (4) sustained silent reading time; (5) activities to foster metalinguistic awareness; and (6) the provision of a phonics workbook for children who become interested in learning to decode. The methodology section describes how the study draws on the techniques of ethnographers and adopts the methodology of naturalistic observation, noting that researchers observed and recorded teachers and students for 55 full sessions and documented what happened during 169.1 hours of classroom time. The section further explains that because the approach represented an innovation, the teachers who volunteered to implement it received extensive training and support. The third section describes the literate environment approach to reading readiness, and the final section describes the children's response to the approach. No attempt is made to compare the approach of this volume with the second or "traditional" approach that is reported in the second volume. (HOD)