Based on the experience of 36 schools involved with the Northwest Reading Consortium, this manual presents a model of the instructional improvement process involved in that project. The instructional improvement process presented includes five stages: (1) assessing readiness, (2) developing a statement of the instructional problem, (3) making a decision regarding alternative solutions, (4) developing an implementation plan, and (5) making installation decisions and conducting a program assessment. For each of the five stages, the manual provides a statement of the goal to be addressed, describes the tangible outcomes of the process, and supplies a list of activities with worksheets, questions to aid in focusing on the concerns of the step, and resource material to help carry out the step. Much of the manual is in the form of a notebook that provides space for users' notes. (Author/JM)