Reading Difficulties of Grade One Learners

in Lloren Elementary School,

School Year 2022-2023

An Action Research Proposal

Conducted By:
MAY JOY R. LLOBRERA
RESEARCHER
May 2023
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Abstract 3
II. Introduction 4-6
1.1 Statement of the Problem 6
1.2 Conceptual Framework 7-10
2.1 Objectives of the Study 11
2.2 Definitions of Terms 12
III. Methodology 13
1.1 Data Collection Method 13
1.2 Research Design 13
2.1 Respondent Study/Data sources 13-14
2.2 Research Locale 14
3.1 Research Instrument 14
3.2 Data Procedures 15
4.1 Statistical Tool 15
IV. Bibliography 16
 I. ABSTRACT

Teaching reading comprehension to non-readers and frustration level readers

today is different from the past. Teachers need to focus on extensive

comprehension instruction with all students, not just successful readers. This

action research investigated sixty three grade one pupils of the two classes of

grade one. They have undergone reading assessment test to know their level

of reading performance. This action research discusses the causes and reasons

of reading difficulties of non-readers and frustration level readers. It also

presents multiple strategies that have proved to be successful in a first grade

classroom, as well as strategies used and found to be successful by other

teachers and researchers. As new best practices in reading instruction are

developed and researched, teaching strategies need to evolve as well.

 Reading Difficulties of Grade One Learners
In Lloren Elementary School

II. INTRODUCTION

Proficient reading and writing skills are critical to success. If students

are not competent readers, they are at risk for academic, behavioral, social and

emotional difficulties. Students with reading disabilities have the potential to

be unsuccessful academically and socially. (Macinnis, 2004).

Children with reading difficulties throughout school and into adulthood,

said how embarrassing and devastating it was to read with difficulty in front of

peers and teachers, and to demonstrate this weakness on daily basis.

It is clear that this type of failure affects children negatively earlier than

we thought. By the end of first grade, children having difficulty learning to read

begin to feel less positive about their abilities than when they started school

(Reid Lyon, 2003).

Researchers have made considerable progress in understanding all types

of reading disabilities (Fletcher, et.al. 2007). For purposes of research, "reading

impaired" children may be all those who score below the 30 th percentile in basic

reading skill.

Among all of those poor readers, about 70-80 percent have trouble with

accurate and fluent word recognition that originates with weaknesses in

phonological processing, often in combination with fluency and comprehension

problems. These students have obvious trouble learning sound-symbol

correspondence, sounding out words, and spelling. The term dyslexic is most

often applied to this group. Another 10-15 percent of poor readers appear to be

accurate but too slow in word recognition and text reading. They have specific

weaknesses with speed of word recognition and automatic recall of word

spellings, although they do relatively well on tests of phoneme awareness and

other phonological skills.

They have trouble developing automatic recognition of words by sight

and tend to spell phonetically but not accurately. This subgroup is thought to

have relative strengths in phonological processing, but the nature of their

relative weakness is still debated by reading scientists (Fletcher, 2007; Katzir,

2006; Wolf & Bowers, 2009).

Some argue that the problem is primarily one of timing or processing

speed, and others propose that there is a specific deficit within the

orthographic processor that affects the storage and recall of exact letter

sequences. This processing speed/orthographic subgroup generally has milder

difficulties with reading than students with phonological processing deficits.

Reading had been a long-lasting and widespread problem among pupils

in the primary level. One of the challenges facing teachers is how to motivate

the pupils to read. The implementation of the K to 12 curriculum also swell

with the problem in reading of grade one pupils.

During the first year of its implementation, grade one pupils who cannot

read can be promoted to the second grade. The second grade teachers
experience difficulty in teaching due to poor reading ability of the pupils. This

year the product of such curriculum were in grade three who will also take the

National Achievement Exam. The question is with the poor reading ability of

the pupil, will they pass the NAT exam. Most pupils in grade one experience

difficulty in learning how to read. They have difficulty in learning phonetics,

syllables and words. Some of them are scared to attend classes when reading

lessons started. Due to this situation, some of them drop out from school and

do not continue until the next school year begins.

The aforementioned situations above triggered the researcher to

conduct an action research on the reading difficulties of grade one pupils in

Lloren Elementary School.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study aims to make an action plan for the poor reading difficulties

of grade one pupils in Lloren Elementary School.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. What is the level of reading comprehension of grade one pupils?

2. Why pupils in grade one were at the non-reader and frustration level?

3. How pupils in grade one will be helped by the teacher to address

difficulty in learning to read?

4. How pupils in grade one improve their reading comprehension?

 1.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Review of Related Literature

Education is one of the key components for an individual’s success. It

has the ability to shape one’s life in the right direction. Education is a process

of imparting or acquiring knowledge, developing the powers of

reasoning and judgment. It prepares oneself or others intellectually for

mature life. It improves not only the personal life of the people but also their

community. Thus, one cannot neglect the significance of Education in life and

society.

According to Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj (2016), he emphasized that

education is important for integration of separates entities.

“Education is an essential human virtue, a necessity of society, basis of

good life and sign of freedom. Education is important for integration of separate

entities. If we are in our academic career, then we might be

hearing the words like ‘Education is Must’, ‘There is no Life without

Education’.

”Additionally, Dr. Ajay Bhardwaj (2016) also added that

Education is the vehicle of knowledge, self-preservation and success.

“Education is the vehicle of knowledge, self-preservation and

success. Education not only gives us a platform to succeed, but also the

knowledge of social conduct, strength, character and self-respect. The greatest

gift education gives us is the knowledge of unconditional love and a set of

values. These values include the simple difference between right and wrong, a

belief in God, the importance of hard work and self-respect. Education is a

continuous learning experience, learning from people, learning from success

and failures, learning from leaders and followers and then growing up to be the

person we are meant to be.

”Based on the study of Dr. Patrick Capriola (2019) he

emphasized that education is important because it enhances the creativity

and imagination of every learners.

“Education is important to children because education helps children

learn how to think critically, it enhances their creativity and imagination, it will

expose them to new ideas, and it helps the child find the path to a career that

they wish to pursue as an adult.

”In the research study of Abdulghani Al-Shuaibi (2014) he stated that

education is the key to success in the future and an important issue in one’s

life. “Education is an important issue in one’s life. It is the key to success in

the future and to have many opportunities in our life.

Education has many advantages for people. For instance, it

illuminates a person’s mind and thinking. It helps students to plan

for work or pursue a higher education while graduating from

university. Having education in an area helps people think, feel, and behave in
away that contributes to their success, and improves not only

their personal satisfaction but also their community.”

In addition, education develops human personality, thoughts,

dealing with others and prepares people for life experiences. It makes people

have a special status in their own society and everywhere they live in. The

researcher also believe that everyone is entitled to have education ‘’from cradle

to grave’’. There are various benefits of having education such as having a good

career, having a good status in society, and having self-confidence. First of all,

education gives us the chance of having a good career in our life. We can have

plenty of chances to work at any workplace we wish.

According to Kumar and Ahmad (2008) education may be

define as any social, scientific, psychological activity that is either planned or

unplanned which is capable of facilitating progress in the life of an individual

and in the society in general.

In addition, Priyanka Negrale (2019) he emphasized that education

begins at home and continues throughout our life.

“Education is very important for every country. Education begins at

home and continues throughout our life. There are many reasons why people

need education. It helps them to learn new things, find good jobs and lead a

respectable life in the society. The more educated a person the higher is the

chances of her or his success in life.”

 According to Al Ryanne G. Gatcho and Judy C. Bautista, In the

Philippines, the problem of students in reading is not a new issue. In fact,

certain studies reveal that the reading problems of Filipino students seemed to

be perennial (Alayon, 2014;Habagat & Rizon, 2012; Lalunio, 1994; Miguel,

2007; Montalban, 2010; Umali,2016). Due to such problems, reading and

literacy instruction have always been the top priority in all Philippine curricula.

Umali (2016) labels that reading instruction in the Philippines can be

distinguished into two facets: (1) the regular reading class which is embedded

in the standard curriculum, and (2) the remedial reading class which is a

separate subject given to those students who need help in correcting and

improving their reading difficulties. The remedial reading class in the

Philippines is a pull-out type since it is not integrated within the regular

reading class of the students.

Distance learning has its share of challenges on its own, but educators

who provide reading remediation for student’s online face additional

obstacles. When providing remediation for any subject, teachers often rely on

physical strategies to keep kids engaged. But when the opportunity for physical

interaction is taken away, educators must find new methods to get students

interested and provide essential remediation. Perhaps, most importantly,

successful reading remediation is a result of realistic expectations set by both

students and teachers. This school year is different for everyone, whether

students are wearing masks and socially distanced in a classroom or

continuing to receive remediation online. As students’ and teachers’ learning

environment continues to evolve, it’s totally understandable that students will

not make the same kind of progress compared to previous years. However,

educators and students can still make strides and improve reading skills

during this challenging time.

2.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This action research will be beneficial first and foremost to the sixty three

grade one pupils for they will learn how to address their difficulty in reading

and will help them develop their reading comprehension. As the respondents of

this action research, they will be elevated from the non-reader and frustration

level to at least instructional level. As the pupils improve their reading

comprehension they will also easily learn lessons under the curriculum and

will definitely improve their academic performance.

The teachers will also be benefited from this action research for they will

learn how to address the difficulty of grade one pupils to learn how to read.

They will also learn the strategies on how reading comprehension of pupils will

be improved. As the pupils’ reading performance elevated from non-reader and

frustration level to instructional and independent level, the teacher will also

improve his/her performance on her Performance Appraisal System for

Teachers (PAST) and in the Individual Performance Commitment and Review

Form (IPCRF) under the Result-Based Performance Management System

(RPMS).
 The school will also be aided from this action research because the

pupils’ performance and teachers’ performance reflects the school

performance. When pupils improve their academic performance it will reflect

on their performance on the National Achievement Test (NAT) as one of the

criteria in the Performance Based Bonus (PBB). Dropout rates will be lessen

when pupils’ performance in reading and in all subjects is in average to

proficient level.

2.2 DEFINITION OF TERMS

1. PAST - Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (provides teachers

with appraisals that encourage professional learning and growth.)

2. IPCRF - Individual Performance Commitment and Review Form

(Refers to the performance management tool required to be submitted

by an employee every semester. It contains his/her commitments to

the attainment of office goals and objectives and accomplishments at

the end of the rating period.)

3. RPMS - Result-Based Performance Management System (Performance

monitoring, evaluation, information and reporting are essential

components of an effective and efficient performance management

system.)

4. NAT - National Achievement Test (is a standardized set of

examinations taken in the Philippines by students in Grades 3, 6, 10,

and 12. The test is designed to determine their academic levels,

 strength and weaknesses, as well as their knowledge learnt in major

subjects throughout the year.)

5. PBB - Performance Based Bonus (is a form of additional

compensation paid to an employee or department as a reward for

achieving specific goals or hitting predetermined targets.)

6. ECECP - Early Childhood Education Curriculum Program

III. METHODOLOGY

1.1 DATA COLLECTION METHOD

This chapter present the methods and procedures that the

researcher employed in gathering the needed data of the study. The discussion,

therefore, will be focus on the following; the research design, research

locale, research respondents, research instrument, data gathering procedure

and the statistical tool.

1.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

This action research used the descriptive correlational method of

research. Descriptive research involves description, recoding, analysis and

interpretation of conditions that currently exist. The main aims are to describe

the nature of a condition as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the

causes of the particular situation.

 This action research utilized triangulation method as a data gathering

procedure through survey questionnaire, observation, interview and field notes.

2.1 RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY/OTHER SOURCES OF DATA AND

INFORMATION

This study involved sixty three (63) grade one pupils of Lloren

Elementary School. The respondents attended kindergarten class during the

previous school year and had undergone the Early Childhood Education

Curriculum Program (ECECP).

The distribution of the grade one pupils which are composed of the

respondents of this study is shown in the table.

Table A. Distribution of the Respondents in Grade One

SECTION/CLASS PUPIL RESPONDENTS

Grade One - Lotus 31

Grade One - Orchids 32

TOTAL 63

2.2 RESEARCH LOCALE

This research study will be conducted at Lloren Elementary School, Lloren,

Tubao, La Union during the School Year 2022-2023.

 3.1 RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

A self-prepared questionnaire with four major parts will serve as the data

gathering instrument in this action research. Part I will deal with the profile of

the respondents. Part II will deal on items that will measure the level of reading

performance of the respondents. Part III will deal with the difficulties the pupil

respondents have in learning how to read. Part IV will deal on items that

exhibits the reasons why the pupil respondents were on non-reader and

frustration level.

3.2 DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

A letter of request have secure for from the School Principal with the

endorsement of the Master Teacher. Upon its approval, proper coordination

with the class advisers and parents of the pupil respondents will be done by

the researcher. The researcher should personally administered the

questionnaire to ensure that all items will be answered and 100% percent

retrieval will be attained. The interview, observation and field notes are also

personally will be done by the researcher.

4.1 STATISTICAL TOOL

 The researcher will used Frequency Distribution Table because it

intended to describe the reading skills of the learners in Lloren Elementary

School.

IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fletcher Janis M., Lyon GR, Fuchs LS, Barnes MA., (2015), Learning

disabilities: From identification to intervention. Retrieved on: June 29, 2016,

Retrieved from:

https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

%2Fpmc%2Farticles%2FPMC3079378%2F

Katzir Tim., Kim. Y., Wolf M., (2015), Reading fluency: the whole is more

than the parts. Annals of Dyslexia, Retrieved on: June 29, 2016, Retrieved

from:

https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F%2Fjournals.plos.org

%2Fplosone%2Farticle%3Fid%3D10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0074061

Lyon, Reid G., (2015), Reading Disabilities: Why Do Some Children Have

Difficulty Learning to Read? What Can Be Done About It? Retrieved on: June

29, 2016, Retrieved from:

https://www.researchgate.net/deref/http%3A%2F

%2Fwww.education.gov.sk.ca%2Freading-difficulties-disabilities
 Wolf, M., & Bowers, P. (2015), The double-deficit hypothesis forthe

developmental dyslexias (Reading Disability), Retrieved on:June 29, 2016,

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