Intended as a comprehensive textbook for preservice teachers, this book aims to present a thoughtful, balanced approach to the teaching of reading and writing, incorporating the best of both traditional and holistic practices. It incorporates the teaching of both skills and strategies within a literature-based reading perspective, and is intended to show beginning teachers how to teach reading and writing effectively, how to create a classroom climate where literacy flourishes, and how to empower the diverse array of students in today's classrooms. The book is organized into 4 sections and 12 chapters, as follows. Part 1, "What is Literacy?", contains chapters on becoming an effective teacher of reading and on building and maintaining an active partnership among students, teachers, and parents. Part 2 examines the question "How do readers and writers construct meaning?" Its 4 chapters focus on teaching the basic components of reading and writing: graphophonics, skills and strategies, word identification, vocabulary, and the structure of text. Answering the question "How do teachers organize literacy instruction?" is the focus of the 6 chapters in the third section of the book. This section deals with reading and writing processes, literature focus units, reading and writing workshop, working with emergent readers and writers, reading and writing across the curriculum, and assessing students' literacy development. Part 4 is a comprehensive review of 36 instructional procedures used in literature-based reading classrooms. Appendixes list award-winning books for children, and resources about authors and illustrators. (SR)