The purpose of this study was to compare three methods of teaching children the arm drive of the front crawl. Subjects were ninety second and third grade girls from four of the elementary schools in Muncie, Indiana.Group I received instruction in the front crawl using a straight-arm drive. Group II received instruction in the front crawl using a straight-arm drive for the first half of the learning period, and a bent-arm drive for the latter half. Group III received instruction in the front crawl using a bent-arm drive.Criterion measures included a power test to measure distance swum in twelve arm strokes, and a subjective rating by judges to evaluate the effectiveness of arm action.It was concluded that for these subjects, use of the straight-arm drive, the straight-arm drive followed by the bent-arm drive, or the bent-arm drive was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage when learning the front crawl.