Determining the Extent of the Relationship Between Explicit Early Reading Activities
With Second Graders and Their Reading Achievement
Renee Gardiner
May 2002
The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of the relationship between using
explicit early reading activities with second graders and their reading achievement. The
second-grade students were introduced to the explicit teaching style of their teacher, and
they participated in daily explicit early reading activities such as word walls, making and
breaking words, phonemic awareness activities, and systematic reading lessons. This was
a quasi-experimental design with a pre and post test. The instrument that was used to
determine if the second-grade students demonstrated growth in their reading achievement
was a running record. The results revealed a significant difference of p< .05. The
students who had been exposed to the explicit early reading activities and teaching style
significantly improved their reading ability. These findings suggest that second-grade
students who participate in early reading activities such as word walls, building words,
and phonemic awareness activities on a daily basis will continue to improve their reading
achievement.