This final report details the results of a federally funded project designed to investigate reading comprehension in students with learning disabilities and their ability to identify themes. The first part of the report discusses reading instruction and students with learning disabilities, and provides an overview of the research. The second section consists of a report on 2 studies that compared identification of theme in narrative by 10 adolescents with learning disabilities and 10 typical students. Research findings in the study indicate that the students with learning disabilities had specific difficulty with theme identification. The third section describes an instructional program designed to teach students with learning disabilities about the concept of theme and how to identify themes in short stories. It also presents an evaluation of the program in two different populations of students with learning disabilities. Results of the evaluation indicate that the Themes Instruction Program was successful in helping students with learning disabilities and typical students to learn about the concept of theme and to identify theme. The fourth section contains a paper on elementary reading instruction and the benefits of phonics programs presented at a symposium of the Orton Dyslexia Society. (Each section contains references.) (CR)