Based on the premise that comprehension must be the true and final goal of all instruction in reading, this book is designed to provoke teachers' reflections about their own ideas, reading, language, and experiences as teachers of reading comprehension and to help them base their teaching decisions on a knowledge of theory and research about how people learn to read. The first section, "Theory," is comprised of three chapters, of which the first two synthesize research on language use and on language and reading, and the third presents the theories behind conventional approaches to reading instruction. The second section, "Practice," contains four chapters, which deal with exploring language uses, developing purposes for reading, assessing reading for meaning, and planning for student learning. These chapters describe activities that are consistent with the application of language experience to the development of reading comprehension. In addition to suggesting teaching strategies, they provide guidelines for observational and data gathering activities that teachers can use in their classrooms. (GT)