This study investigated the nature of preservice teachers' instructional actions during Directed Reading-Teaching Activities (DR-TA) to involve students in reading and enhance their understanding of text, noting scaffolding processes used to engage children in making sense of text. Twenty-eight preservice teachers who were first-semester K-8 interns participated. They received instruction in DR-TA and learned about scaffolding in conjunction with mediating understanding through peer and small group discussions of text. Data collection included lesson plans in which interns used DR-TA and journal reflections, student artifacts (e.g., activity sheets, written responses, and drawings), and observation notes from mentors or liaisons concerning instruction. Analyses revealed interns used 15 instructional actions to involve students with text. Predictions, teacher questions, and writing to learn dominated interns' instructional actions. They used the most instructional actions during pre- and post-reading and the least during reading. Regarding scaffolding processes, modeling how to make predictions and reading portions of text to predetermined stopping points were prevalent across most lessons. Interns' instruction provided limited time for extended student response. Most dialogue was teacher-controlled. Interns gained valuable knowledge about teaching, learning, and helping students read text with understanding. The most salient knowledge was the importance of pausing during reading to encourage students to think, predict, and answer questions about the text. (Contains 19 references.) (SM)