A study attempted to delineate the parameters of practice that are referred to as literature-based reading instruction and explored the perspectives of the teacher, the students, and the researcher about the use of literature in three different literature-based classrooms. Six teachers (third grade or above) were identified, teachers who were highly respected within their systems, had a number of years of teaching experience, and used literature as the basis for their reading programs. Three of the teachers were part of the field testing of interviews, surveys, videotaping, and document data collection, data analysis, and pattern confirmation. The other three teachers' classrooms became the sites for more intensive observation, interviewing, and analysis. Results indicated that three anchoring points existed on the spectrum of classroom practice in literature-based instruction: (1) literature used as the text in a basal curriculum; (2) literature as the basis for an individualized reading program; and (3) literature as the key to integrating the curriculum throughout the day. Results also indicated that students took on the language of the teacher and seemed to move toward the teacher's perception of what was occurring in the room. Findings suggest that it was the power, control, and autonomy the teachers sensed they had that freed them to use literature--and to differ widely from each other in their use of literature. (RS)