A program was developed for improving the reading skills of 22 first-grade bilingual students in a suburban K-6 elementary school located northwest of Chicago. The problem was detected because the first grade bilingual students had not achieved reading fluency at the conclusion of the academic school year and, consequently, did not exhibit strong reading comprehension skills. Traditional instruction methods were not meeting the needs of the targeted students. Inappropriate reading instruction for the learning styles of the students, a developmental delay of the children's oral language, limited exposure to printed materials and lack of reading practice were the major causes identified. The solution strategies selected to meet the needs of this population included the whole language approach combined with principles of the learning styles movement. The chosen interventions were designed to develop oral language, emergent literacy, automatic word recognition, to improve reading fluency and comprehension skills. The intervention was intended to help first-grade bilingual students have a solid ground for the reading process through their own style of acquisition of knowledge. This would empower them to make the transition to the second language. The problem was reduced. Students improved in the specified areas where interventions were applied. Oral language was the key element through which students evidenced that comprehension was acquired. (Contains 42 references, 4 tables, and 3 figures of data. An appendix describing how to produce "gel boards" and two appendixes of data are attached.) (Author/RS)