The Effect of Small Step Reading Method and Stepping Stone Method on The Ability of Beginning Reading of Elementary School Students

Some factors influence the difficulty of students in beginning reading. One of them is the selection of the method. The purposes of this study are; (1) to determine the ability difference of beginning reading by spelling method and SSR (Small Step Reading) method (2) to determine the ability difference of beginning reading by spelling method and Stepping Stone method, and (3) to determine the more effective method between SSR method and Stepping Stone Method. This quantitative study was a quasi experiment with a nonequivalent control group design. Subjects of this study were 51 first grade students of Islamic Elementary School Gonilan (MI Muhammadiyah Gonilan), Central Java, Indonesia. Data collection did with some tests including normality with Saphiro Wilk test, homogeneity with F-test, as well as a hypothesis with t-test. The findings of this study showed; (1) there was an ability difference of beginning reading by spelling method and SSR (Small Step Reading) method (2) there was an ability difference of beginning reading by spelling method and Stepping Stone method, and (3) SSR method was more effective than Stepping Stone Method based on t-count (1.952) > t-table (1.676).