The teaching and self-study materials of the Phonological Transcription Accompanied Text (PTAT) method takes into account both sides of the debate over reading instruction in which the skills-emphasis partisans and the meaning-emphasis partisans are engaged. PTAT materials attempt to make the best use of children's oral language and rich repertoire of sight words to develop an automatic, unconscious decoding skill. PTAT materials include the following features as visual clues to help pupils read independently: (1) a simple set of phonemes; (2) authentic reading materials; and (3) the pronunciation of each word transcribed directly underneath each individual word using the appropriate set of phonemes. The first prerequisite of using PTAT materials is to be able to recognize and blend the sound symbols. Once pupils are able to recognize and blend the phonemes to a certain degree, the PTAT materials can be phased in. Using the materials will improve the child's ability to recognize and blend the sounds. For the PTAT materials to work efficiently, several things need to be considered: publishers need to publish children's magazines, textbooks, and stories that include the three features of PTAT materials; texts of other courses (science, social studies, and mathematics) should also incorporate PTAT features; teachers for the early grades should be able to transcribe the sound of each word instantly when they hear the pupils say a word; and there is a need for research to identify the right time to totally phase out the PTAT materials. (Contains 21 references.) (RS)