The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of whole language versus phonics on reading achievement. Four second-grade students participated--two were chosen for a control sample in which they were taught using the modified whole language approach; and two were chosen for the experimental sample and were taught using the modified whole language approach plus additional phonics skills. The students were given a pretest and a posttest, which tested vocabulary, comprehension, word analysis, and word identification. Results indicated no significant difference in vocabulary, comprehension, and word identification, but a significant difference for word analysis. Findings suggest how these results may be influenced by different teaching strategies. (Contains 27 references and 6 tables of data; an appendix contains additional data.) (Author/RS)