TEACHERS IN SAN DIEGO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, TESTED THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN EXPERIENCE APPROACH (EA) AND THE TRADITIONAL METHOD (TM) APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF LANGUAGE ARTS AT THE SECOND-GRADE LEVEL, CONTINUING A STUDY BEGUN WITH THE SAME PUPILS IN FIRST GRADE THE PREVIOUS YEAR. GOALS OF THE PROJECT WERE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE TWO APPROACHES WOULD BE SUSTAINED THROUGH A SECOND YEAR AND TO INDICATE THEIR EFFECTIVENESS WHEN APPLIED TO SECOND GRADE ONLY. THE EA UTILIZED STORIES AND EXPERIENCES, RELATED BY THE STUDENTS, AS THE PRIMARY BASIS FOR INSTRUCTION, WHEREAS THE TM APPROACH CENTERED AROUND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS SUPPLIED TO THE TEACHERS. STATEMENTS OF CRITERIA AND RATIONALE SERVED AS GUIDELINE DESCRIPTIONS FOR EACH APPROACH, AND COORDINATORS VISITED THE CLASSROOMS REGULARLY TO HELP TEACHERS STAY WITHIN THE STUDY'S DESIGN. OF 34 COMPARISONS ANALYZED, 12 FAVORED THE EA AND 13 THE TM. HOWEVER, AS INSTRUCTION TIME INCREASED, THE EA ENHANCED ACHIEVEMENT IN READING, WRITING, SPEAKING, AND LISTENING SOMEWHAT MORE THAN DID THE TM, AND THE LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE IN THE OBSERVED DIFFERENCES IMPROVED. WITH INSTRUCTION LIMITED TO ONE YEAR, THE NUMBER OF SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES WAS COMPARABLE TO THAT FOR TWO YEARS, BUT SUBSTANTIALLY FEWER WERE SIGNIFICANT AT THE .01 LEVEL OF CONFIDENCE. (RD)