A study was conducted with disadvantaged second-graders to test the value of oral reading of literature for increasing reading achievement, presenting books as a source of pleasure, and strengthening vocabulary by offering wider language models than the disadvantaged child's milieu provides. Teachers in the experimental group read, orally, a story every day to the children, using carefully selected books which allowed for emotional identification with characters and situations. Teachers were also provided with a manual of accompanying activities and story-reading techniques. Two standardized tests were administered to students before and after the experimental period. The results revealed that the improvement of the experimental group (155 students) over the control group (130) was significant in vocabulary, word knowledge, and reading comprehension; marginal in quality of vocabulary; and insignificant in word discrimination. Among the conclusions were that associating language learning with intellectual and emotional experiences strengthens the student's language power, and that reading to socially disadvantaged children helps to overcome their lack of experience with books and increases their perception of meaning and word skills. (MF)