This is a book about effective elementary literacy instruction, intended for the many constituencies who have a need to know about what works to develop readers in elementary school. It suggests that since the initial publication of this book, the research support for balanced literacy instruction has continued to grow. This revised and updated second edition incorporates findings from reports by the National Reading Panel and the National Research Council, as well as ongoing research by the author and others. Topics covered in the book include the various components of both whole language and skills instruction; how the balanced approach is effectively applied in real classrooms; and motivational issues. The second edition has been augmented with new material on phonemic awareness, comprehension, problems, decoding and comprehension, vocabulary instruction, development of word knowledge, and "flooding" the classroom with motivation. It also features a new discussion of the place of Reading Recovery within balanced instruction, including an in-depth case study. Following an introduction, chapters in the book are: (1) Whole Language; (2) Skilled Reading; (3) Children Who Experience Problems in Learning To Read; (4) Before Reading Instruction Begins; (5) Learning To Recognize Words; (6) Expert Primary-Level Teaching of Literacy Is Balanced Teaching (with Ruth Wharton-McDonald and Jennifer Mistretta Hampston); (7) The Need for Increased Comprehension Instruction (with Ruth Wharton-McDonald); (8) Motivation and Literacy; and (9) Concluding Reflections...for the Time Being. (Each chapter includes references.) (NKA)