A study was conducted to describe the experiences of five preservice teachers who taught in a special practicum without cooperating teachers. Prior to the practicum, the student teachers were interviewed to ascertain their views on teaching reading and what they hoped to gain from the practicum to further prepare them to teach it. Each student was observed four times in the classroom. Postobservation time was set aside for discussion with the students and, when possible, with the supervisor. Following the practicum, interviews were conducted with the students to discover why they used particular organizational patterns, materials, and instructional procedures. Observations revealed that although each student had expressed a desire to develop fluent silent readers, much of the reading time was devoted to oral round-robin reading. While all of the student teachers were concerned about allowing children to read material that interested them, their early attempts at organizing literature groups and integrating social studies with the reading program floundered. As the semester went on, the basals became the only reading material used. No or few attempts were made to monitor the children's progress. The student teachers mentioned the following factors as important in influencing their actions and views toward reading instruction: school pressures, lack of confidence, classroom survival, limited time, and the content of the methods course. (HOD)