Informed opinion suggests that problems of underachievement in school relate to the lack of particular kinds of experience, discontinuity between school and home, and linguistic and cultural diversity. If a literacy program were based on up-to-date knowledge of the processes involved in reading and writing, and what is known of early literacy events that provide a successful entry into reading and writing for many children, a program could be developed in which reading aloud would be the central factor. An emergent reading model might follow: (1) children build up a repertoire of books and stories, (2) bridge spoken and written language, (3) explore environmental language, (4) develop concepts of print, (5) try 'reading' and 'writing' themselves, (6) get to know some words and letters, (7) develop a literacy set. If concern for underachieving children is real, it is necessary for teachers to examine their practice at the beginning of school and create conditions that allow a point of entry to children from different social, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. It is also important to move away from trivializing literacy by reducing it to skills learning, improve the quality and range of books and stories offered to children, and provide more opportunities for children to transform, extend and reformulate ideas and experience. (NKA)