Five social studies programs at the fourth and sixth grade levels were examined to determine how much and what kind of reading comprehension instruction was provided in both the students' and teachers' editions of the texts. Programs studied were those published by Follett; Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich; Laidlaw; Macmillan; and Scott, Foresman. Results showed that publishers of four of the five programs acknowledged the importance of reading in the social studies curriculum and purported to teach reading-related skills. However, there was little direct instruction of these skills, and what little instruction there was often seemed inadequate. The programs relied primarily on having students practice or apply skills without the benefit of instruction in how to do this. This situation may stem from (1) the confusion regarding what "reading skills" really are, (2) the fact that what is known about teaching reading comprehension is not finding its way into the social studies programs, and (3) the fact that really good instruction in content area reading takes time to develop and time to practice, and publishers seem to be unwilling to invest a large amount of their resources in developing reading instruction. (Excerpts from the teachers' editions and charts of reading skills covered in the textbooks are appended.) (FL)