Drawing on an array of research on the nature and development of reading proficiency, this book argues that educators need not remain trapped in the phonics versus teaching-for-meaning dilemma and offers instructional alternatives. The book proposes that phonics can work together with the whole language approach to reading and provides an integrated treatment of the knowledge and processes involved in skillful reading, the issues surrounding their acquisition, and the implications for reading instruction. Developing the new connectionist theory as it relates to reading and its acquisition, the book underscores the automatic nature of print perception in skillful readers, while contrasting it with the attentive thought required for conceptual learning and understanding. The book reviews the history of the debate over approaches to reading instruction as well as the research on their effectiveness. The book stresses the importance of preschool language and literacy experiences and includes descriptions of those that will best prepare children for reading instruction. (Forty pages of references are attached.) (RS)