A modified impress approach to teaching reading has been successfully used in a program involving first grade students. The program was multisensory and included aural, oral, visual, and kinesthetic learning experiences gained through listening, group discussions, dramatic play, art activities, audience reading, and recorded oral reading. These activities were used to teach visual and auditory skills for reading readiness, word recognition, comprehension, oral and silent reading, and appreciation for literature. Inspiration for choice of materials was drawn from assertions about the contributions of folk tales and fairy tales to the psychological and emotional well-being of children. The program consisted of six basic steps designed to do the following: (1) pique the interests of children in traditional literature by the use of adult oral models; (2) assist auditory recall by reading materials that conform to an ideal schema in repetitive and cumulative patterns; (3) promote improvements in visual discrimination and visual memory with multisensory methods; (4) increase feelings of self-confidence and heighten motivation; and (5) prepare the children to read independently. Testing and retesting of the children showed improvements in their self-concepts as well as effective use of context clues when attacking words. One striking feature was the reduced incidence of needed help with phonics. On the negative side, some children presented a condition of "information overload," represented by their inability to remember repetitive passages, their inability to sustain visual attention, and auditory distractibility during oral taping sessions. (HOD)