A study examined the amount and kinds of language arts curriculum integration that occurred in natural elementary school classroom settings, the contextual factors associated with such integration, and the relationship between teachers' thinking about this subject and the occurrence of integration in their classrooms. Teachers in six self-contained classrooms kept logs for three months in which they recorded the beginning and ending times for each instructional intent, and the materials used in each lesson. In addition, the teachers were observed six times during the period and were interviewed at the end of the study. Results showed that while interview data indicated that teachers generally favored an integrated approach to language arts instruction, logs and observations revealed that less than 10% of time spent in language arts instruction actually involved integrated activities. Integration tended to occur only in whole-class settings under direct teacher supervision. (FL)