According to research, there are approximately 60 million American adults who need to improve their basic literacy skills. Unfortunately, present literacy programs serve only a small number of these people and have problems which reduce their effectiveness such as inadequate funding and lack of qualified personnel. One major problem of the program is that although research indicates that adults differ from children as learners, many programs use methods and materials more suitable for children than adults. The purposes of this descriptive study are to survey teachers in a representative literacy program, the North Carolina technical/community college Adult Basic Education program to determine what methods and materials are being used as well as student interest areas; to examine research in reading and adult education to find methods and materials proven effective for adults; to rate available reading series according to content and appropriateness for adults; and to design a sample basal reading unit for adults based on research