A naturalistic study (last of a three-part project) investigated how the reading and writing of children was affected by previous textual experiences. Subjects, first-grade students in one of seven classes in a small independent Christian school, were observed for about 2 hours weekly during their language period. Data consisted of detailed field notes, unstructured and structured interviews with the teacher and her students, personal journals of the researcher and the teacher, and the collection of literacy artifacts. Results indicated that (1) the writing of young children is influenced by texts that have been read to them; (2) intertextual ties were often made consciously, but sometimes occur unconsciously; (3) there were no strong ability differences; and (4) intertextuality is a richly social phenomenon in that it is not simply a cognitive process involving the utilization of background knowledge to produce a new text. (Thirteen figures consisting of samples of students' writing are included; 25 references are attached.) (RS)