Reflecting the views of teachers, reading specialists, and professors on both the basics and the new technologies in reading instruction, these conference proceedings begin with Carl Personke's address, "The Word's the Thing," on classroom activities that stress the word as concept. The second paper, William Linville's and David Waterman's "Now That You Have a Microcomputer," discusses computer programs in reading and lists companies offering computer catalogs, while the third, "Writing for Reading: Listening to the Flip Side," by Catherine Baker, examines the cause/effect relationship between reading and writing. In the fourth paper, "Reading Poetry: Back to Basics," James Mullican suggests why poetry is basic to human culture and offers strategies for involving children with poetry. The fifth paper, Robert Arnett's "Sans Scintillating Salesmanship Skills, Reading Centers Sag," describes how to convince administrators and students of the importance of reading programs and reading, and the sixth paper, "Listen to My Ideas and I Will Read: A Case for Kindergarten Experiences," by Jan McCarthy, examines the teacher's impact on student learning. Carl Personke's closing address, "Wherein We'll Catch the King," investigates schema theory and reading. (MM)