Culture of Reading: Its Efficacy Towards the Pupils’ Reading

Fluency

Marie Ann O. Lague- HT-III

Rechie S. Guigue- T-I

Barra Elementary School

Tudela District
I. Context/Rationale

Reading is among the most complex human cognitive processes. This

involves the process of decoding symbols to derive meaning from texts. The ability to

read is one of the fundamental skills a person should acquire in order to see the

world in a better perspective. Without the ability to read, it’s nearly impossible for an

individual to live harmoniously with others. This is due to the fact that the absence of

a person’s reading ability would mean that; he or she couldn’t recognize the written

rules and regulations existing in a community; he or she couldn’t understand simple

written communications. With this, misconceptions could occur among individuals.

Moreover, in a much larger scale, being unable to read leads to narrow roads,

having less job opportunities and being ignorant to the eclectic trends in the literate

world.

In the academic perspective, various researchers have examined the

influences of reading on the students’ academic journey. Madani, (2016) posited that

reading is central to learning in school, and everyday life. He stressed that reading is

an important tool in education and individual development as it plays central roles in

individuals’ careers. Furthermore, it has been postulated by Guthrie & Guthrie,

(2013) that students who read widely and frequently are higher achievers than

students who read rarely and narrowly. This stand is supported by Hiebert & Reutzel,

(2014) in which they found out that the increased frequency, amount, and diversity of

reading activity increases background knowledge and reading achievement. The

researchers’ findings about reading clearly indicates the positive effects of reading

proficiency on students in the academic setting.

 Contextually, the researcher plans to conduct this study with the purpose of

enhancing the reading skills of the Grade 1 pupils in Barra Elementary School. Prior

to planning the conduct of this research, the researcher has observed that most of

the Grade 1 pupils have not yet acquired proficiency in reading. This reason has

urged the researcher to explore interventions which would enhance the pupils’

reading skills.

This study would be so relevant to the teachers who want to explore varied

reading interventions to solve problems in the pupils’ reading proficiency. The result

of this study would serve as their basis to implement other types of reading

interventions in the classroom.

This study focuses on Barra Elementary School in Tudela, Misamis

Occidental- where the study would take place. This study is limited to (no. of pupils)

from Grade 1. This covers the extent of the students’ personal involvement, and

knowledge in providing the necessary data.

 II. Research Questions

The main objective of this study is to find out the effects of

implementing a culture of reading towards the pupils’ reading proficiency

level. Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What is the reading proficiency level of the Grade 1 pupils during the

pretest?

2. What is the reading proficiency level of the Grade 1 pupils during the

posttest?

3. Is there a significant difference between the pupils’ reading proficiency level

during the pretest and posttest?

III. Proposed Innovation, Intervention, and Strategy

The researcher has explored several reading interventions. However,

the researcher has chosen one intervention which seemed most fit to solve

the existing problem. This reading intervention is the implementation of the

“Culture of Reading”. Implementing a culture of reading means that the

researcher would emphasize the importance of reading to the pupils’ cognitive

development. This could be done through the continuous exposure of reading

activities to the pupils until reading would be part of their routine and

somehow would gradually be part of their “Culture”. With the pupils having a
reading culture, they are more likely to attain high proficiency level in reading

along the way considering that they have already developed love for reading.

In implementing a culture of reading, there are three components to be

considered.

The first component is the Phonemic Awareness. This component is

so important to the pupils’ early reading phase. Pupils cannot proceed to

formal reading without being introduced to phonemes. Phonemic awareness

is an activity which centralizes on the extensive teaching of phonemes. It is

significant for the beginning readers to know their letters and have a basic

understanding of how the letters of words represent their sounds. In the early

reading stage, especially in Grade 1, it is important that the learners would

have a firm grasp of the basics before proceeding to other stages in reading.

Moreover, the second component is called the Repeated Reading.

Considering that the pupils already have a solid background of phonemes,

they are now qualified to proceed to formal reading. As its name suggests,

Repeated Reading involves the reading repetition of familiar texts to enhance

reading fluency. In this manner, the pupils would gradually improve their

pronunciation of the words being introduced to them. This activity is anchored

on one of Edward Throndike’s laws of learning which is the law of exercise,

wherein the more a child is exposed to the learning material, the more the

probability that he or she could master and learn from it. Consequently, in this

activity, it is very vital for the facilitator to utter the correct pronunciation of the

words considering that this is the very foundation of the pupils’ knowledge in

pronouncing words. Once the facilitator mispronounces the words, this would
be registered to the young minds of the leaners, resulting to a retrieval of

wrong knowledge.

The last component is the Book Reading. After the clear emphasis on

phonemes and basic reading of words, the pupils are expected to read a short

article in a book. The selection of reading articles would be to the preference

of the pupils as long as it is appropriate for their age level. Some examples of

articles are story books of fantasy and fiction. The facilitator would make sure

that the pupils should read two articles a day, one during classes, and another

one in their homes. This time, the facilitators should seek cooperation from

the pupils’ parents to make sure that they will read at home. To ensure that

the pupils would have a uniform amount of articles read, they are provided

with Reading Logs to record the articles they have read during classes and at

their homes. This continuous practice would help the pupils attain incremental

reading fluency.

IV. Action Research Methods

This study involves the pretest-posttest design, wherein the pupils’

scores in the pretest and posttest will be analyzed.

a. Participants

The target sample consists of Grade 1 pupils from Barra Elementary

School. All the Grade 1 pupils will be selected to participate in the study.

Their ages range from 6-7 years old.

 b. Data Gathering Methods

Prior to the conduct of the study, permission from the Schools Division

Superintendent will be sought. After the approval, the researcher will

distribute parental consents to the selected respondents of the study.

Consequently, before the period of implementation of the intervention, the

researcher will first conduct a pretest to examine the pupils’ reading

proficiency level prior to the implementation. After the implementation period,

the researcher will then conduct a posttest similar to the pretest to find out if

there are any observable improvements.

c. Data Analysis Plan

The data to be gathered will be treated statistically using the following

statistical tools:

1. Weighted Mean- This measure of central tendency was used to

determine the pupils’ level of reading proficiency.

The formula is:

Weighted mean= (data interval frequency x assigned weight)/ total

respondent.

2. Paired T-test- this is used to find out the significant difference between

the pupils’ level of reading proficiency during the pretest and posttest.
V. Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

1. Conduction of Pretest to 1st Week of June

Grade 1 Pupils

2. Data Analysis 2nd Week of June

3. Preparation of Materials 3rd and 4th Week of June

4. Implementation Phase July-August

5. Conduction of Posttest 1st Week of September

6. Data Analysis 2nd Week of September

7. Data Interpretation 3rd Week of September

8. Writing of the Conclusion 4th Week of September

and Recommendation
VI. Cost Estimates

Amount

Pre-Activities

a. Distribution of Questionnaires Php. 2,000

b. Materials

*Ink (4 bottles) Php. 1,200

*Bond Paper (4 reams) Php. 920

*Folder (1/2 ream) Php. 380

Post-Activities

a. Implementation of full research

paper- (Including snacks & meals) Php. 4,500

Total: Php. 9,000

VII. Plans for dissemination and utilization

With the results of this action research, the researcher plans to conduct

an information drive to raise awareness among the fellow teachers about the

effects of implementing the Culture of Reading.

VIII. References

Guthrie, J. T., & Guthrie, J. T. (2013). Best Practices for Motivating Students to

Read. 1–32.

Hiebert, E. H., & Reutzel, D. R. (2014). Revisiting Silent Reading : New

Directions for Teachers and Researchers Revisiting Silent Reading : New

Directions for Teachers and Researchers.

Madani. (2016). The Effects of Reading Skills on the Development of Language

Proficiency :