Abstract: Sight-reading, the act of performing unfamiliar music at sight, is a valued measure of an instrumentalist's musical training and overall musicianship. Though sight-reading is recognized as an important ability, little is known about the process or how best to prepare students for sight-reading situations. Previous research has suggested the importance of rhythm, finding that most sight-reading errors are rhythm errors, and rhythmic ability is often a strong predictor of sight-reading accuracy. Related research has investigated a variety of approaches to rhythm instruction, including mathematical (numbers-based) approaches and speech cue (word-based) methods. Many studies have suggested that the latter approach may be more suitable to school-age musicians, especially younger students who may lack the conceptual understanding needed to grasp mathematical models. Other research has affirmed the importance of providing students with opportunities to respond individually and receive regular feedback from their instructor. The current study employed two parallel rhythmic instruction strategies in an effort to determine their impact on middle school band members' sight-reading performance. The control group reviewed rhythms using a previously-learned numerical counting system while a treatment group reviewed rhythms using an original speech cue method and performed individually at scheduled intervals. Sight-reading pretests and posttests were scored and compared to measure subjects' sight-reading accuracy. Results showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups on the sight-reading posttest. Mean scores for all subjects, regardless of treatment grouping, improved from pretest to posttest, including significant gains on pitch accuracy and total sight-reading scores. Additionally, important relationships were found regarding the interplay between pitch reading and rhythm reading during melodic sight-reading, suggesting that these processes present two separate and sometimes conflicting tasks. Overall results and an analysis of the scores of top sight-readers reaffirmed the importance of rhythmic ability in determining overall sight-reading accuracy.