A study examined 1989 kindergarten (K) manuals of basal reading materials. The question of central concern was whether and how the manuals facilitate a teacher's efforts to match instruction with children's ability. A closely related concern was whether and how the manuals describe ways to keep some children occupied with useful activities so as to free a teacher to give time to others. Six examiners studied K manuals from six 1989 basal series and all met to discuss initial and overall impressions. To examine the nature of the lessons, 18 lessons were analyzed for the purpose of learning to what extent they were teacher-dependent. The numbers indicated that 83.7% of the activities classified were teacher-dependent. In addition, a large portion of the written exercises shown in the K manuals--72% to 100%--require an adult's attention. The third question dealt with objectives given; results indicated that none of the six manuals ever encouraged the teachers to consider the appropriateness of an objective for a particular student. The manuals were also examined to learn about the phonics instruction they provided. The overall conclusion was that those who planned the K manuals did not keep in mind two facts about kindergarten: (1) members of the class need many different kinds of instruction; and (2) teachers need suggestions for activities that 5-year-olds are capable of doing without help. (Three tables of data and four figures are included.) (MG)