Explored the classroom discourse of effective primary teachers to determine communication patterns during literacy instruction. Ss were 4 2nd grade teachers identified as effective by their principals. Based on transcripts of videotaped lessons, 20 qualitatively determined codes common across files were collapsed into 5 literacy-oriented categories. Results indicate that these teachers established literacy communities and encouraged students to participate as responsible, contributing citizens. These teachers' talk focused on tasks, modeled strategies, and provided a process perspective for literacy. The results are seen to provide a profile of effective teacher–student communication during the literacy-learning processes, provide insights on the multifarious nature of literacy instruction, and contribute to an effective teacher-talk schema that may serve to ameliorate instruction.