Reading is the most basic of skills. Reading provides access to other skills andknowledge, facilitates life-long learning, and opens doors to opportunity. The NationalInstitute for Literacy is authorized by the U.S. Congress to collect and disseminateinformation on the components of reading and the findings from scientific research. TheNational Center for Family Literacy fully endorses the national emphasis on reading andthe efforts to promote scientifically based reading instruction for children and adults. Weoffer this resource for adult education teachers who want to build and strengthen adults'reading skills. We hope that adult education instructors in family literacy, Adult BasicEducation, and other basic skills programs will find it useful. We know that large numbers of adult learners need to improve their reading skills.And yet, many instructors in adult education programs do not teach reading explicitly forseveral reasons: The assessments used in most programs don't reveal the complexities of adults' reading needs. Teachers often have only fragmentary knowledge about reading instruction. Many have not had specific preparation in this area. Most classes include adults with extremely varied skills, making specifically targeted, individualized instruction difficult, if not impossible. Teachers are challenged to find ways to incorporate reading instruction into their regular classroom schedules, routines, and lessons. This book was written with these realities in mind. It aims first to build backgroundknowledge about reading and scientifically based reading instruction. The language andformat are "teacher friendly," using student and classroom illustrations and sampleinstructional activities to make research principles concrete for readers. The focus inapplying the research is on modeling thinking, planning, and problem solving in thecontext of fictional adult education settings. The student and class profiles in theseillustrations are based on actual assessment data from adult literacy research studies-a reminder to readers of this book that it is a practical resource for use with realadult learners. We titled this book "First Steps" because we know that no single resource canprovide all the answers-everything that's required to change practice. But we believethis is a valuable resource for a teacher's professional development journey. By buildinga basic understanding of research-based reading instruction and offering suggestionsfor starting off in the right direction, we hope to whet teachers' appetites forfurther learning. As teachers and programs become more capable of applying research-basedprinciples for reading assessment and instruction, the real winners should be adultlearners and their families. Improved literacy skills may allow these adults to takegiant steps in the journey of lifelong learning. We are privileged to play a part inthis important effort.