In this study we investigated six widely used basal reading programs for suggestions for literacy instruction for mainstreamed special education students (MSE). The kindergarten, first-, third-, and fifth-grade materials were analyzed for each of the six basal reading programs selected. A basal analysis instrument, based on a literature review and focus-group interviews, was designed to record teaching suggestions for mse students. Only two of the basal reading programs included suggestions directed to the needs of mse students, and their suggestions were few. Discussion focuses on the need to provide general education teachers with teachers' manuals and professional development opportunities that offer explicit suggestions for meeting the needs of mse students in general education classrooms.
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