GIVES SIX instructional methods for initial reading vocabulary acquisition involving two list types (minimal and maximal) combined with three sources of cue (the word itself, a context cue, a picture cue), using 127 first-graders divided into six treatment groups. The subjects in each treatment group received four types of tests to determine the level of performance for each treatment. Three sources of variation were significant: 1) ability grouping, 2) the interaction of list type and cue, and 3) the interaction of list type, sex, and ability grouping.