Meant to guide administrators and teachers as they strive to meet Governor George W. Bush's goal for all students to read on grade level by the end of grade 3, this booklet presents descriptions of components of a research-based beginning reading program. The first section describes 12 essential components of a beginning reading program. In this program, children should have opportunities to: (1) expand their use and appreciation of oral language; (2) expand their use and appreciation of printed language; (3) hear good stories and informational books read aloud daily; (4) understand and manipulate the building blocks of spoken language; (5) learn about and manipulate the building blocks of written language; (6) learn the relationship between the sounds of spoken language and the letters of written language; (7) learn decoding strategies; (8) write and relate their writing to spelling and reading; (9) practice accurate and fluent reading in decodable stories; (10) read and comprehend a wide assortment of books and other texts; (11) develop and comprehend new vocabulary through wide reading and direct vocabulary instruction; and (12) learn and apply comprehension strategies as they reflect upon and think critically about what they read. The second section describes 8 classroom and campus factors that support effective reading instruction: careful use of instructional time; effective instructional practices; sound instructional materials; reading opportunities; a variety of assessment tools; a positive campus climate; professional development; and sound administrative practices. (Contains 73 references.) (RS)