This investigation of the effect of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) on the performance of elementary students in the area of language arts skills compared the performance of students receiving CAI with that of students receiving only regular classroom instruction. Two software programs were created for use in the study. Word Breaker, designed for use at grade levels 2 and 3, encourages recognition and understanding of the composition of compound, prefixed, and suffixed words. Dictionary Hunt, written for use at grade 5, encourages the learner to understand unusual words and to expand vocabulary by consulting the dictionary. Students in the experimental groups (n=50 for Word Breaker and n=34 for Dictionary Hunt) were encouraged to go to the school media center and use the computer programs; students in the control groups (n=50 and n=38) received no special instruction. A comparison of the mean gains between the experimental groups using Word Breaker and their control groups indicates that the experimental groups had a greater gain in score for the total mean gain of all three subject areas covered by the program. A significant gain was shown by one experimental group for the task of categorizing in the Dictionary Hunt program, and comparison of this group's scores with those of a control group revealed a significant difference in favor of the students who had used the CAI program. Sample screens and the pre- and posttests used to measure student progress are appended. (MES)