Recent research indicates the centrality of "attending" as a variable in reading acquisition. Attending is, in fact, more important than such traditionally accepted influences as intelligence, cognitive style, attitudes, and language background. Differences in attending behavior, which are molded through match and mismatch of expectations with reality, through maternal direction, through book experience, and through television viewing, related causatively to reading performance. Distractions within the child, within the reading, and within the classroom environment can militate against appropriate attending. Teachers must be aware of the factors which influence attending behavior, in order to combat reading failure. (Author/KS)