The following assumptions motivated this monograph's analysis of commercial based reading programs: (1) basals represent the state of the art in reading instruction; (2) to offer suggestions for improvement of instruction, existing practices must be understood in detail; and (3) information about instruction contained in the literature at large or in publishers' descriptions of their programs is too global to promote understanding of practice beyond its surface features. The first section of the monograph covers problematic aspects of the earliest textual materials children encounter, including limited story vocabulary, specific characteristics of illustrations, divisions within a story, previous knowledge assumed by texts, and vocabulary knowledge and instruction before, during, and after reading. The second section deals with setting the direction for story lesson reading and applying schemata. The third section deals with after-reading questions and the effectiveness of sequential questioning based on plot events. Two studies--(1) an attempt to redesign a story lesson from a basal program and (2) a large vocabulary development program that investigated the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension--are briefly discussed in the fourth section. The monograph concludes that, in an attempt to be everything to everybody, basals sometimes set too many goals for individual lessons. Specific recommendations are listed for each of the problem areas identified throughout the monograph. (CRH)