Enhancing Reading Skills of Grade 6 Pupils Through TaTiToRe (Take Time to Read) Program: An Action Research

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Applied Science (IJRIAS) |Volume VIII, Issue III, March 2023|ISSN 2454-6194

Enhancing Reading Skills of Grade 6 Pupils Through TaTiToRe (Take Time to Read) Program: An Action Research

Emily A. Ibo1, Rey Avila Mangarin2
1Head Teacher III, Department of Education
2Associate Professor, The University of Mindanao, Philippines
Received: 25 February 2023; Accepted: 09 March 2023; Published: 14 April 2023

Abstract: This study is a participatory action research that aims to enhance the reading levels of 16 Grade 6 pupils who were in frustration level while those who were in instructional and independent levels were not included in the study. These 16 pupils found difficulty to read text to make sufficient progress. Further, their word recognition levels tend to be below 92% accuracy while comprehension drops below 70%. Phil-IRI was used to identify the reading level before the intervention and after the intervention. The intervention program is called TaTiToRe (Take Time To Read) conducted for three weeks among theses 16 pupils. The intervention is composed of free reading, forced reading, and watching videos. After the three-week of TaTiToRe Program, these 16 pupils enhanced their reading level. Out of 16 pupils, 12 moved to instructional level which their word recognition is at 92% accuracy with 70% to 85% comprehension. While the other four (4) pupils jumped to independent level which means that they can already read text without help with 97%-100% accuracy while the comprehension level ranged between 90% to 100% accuracy.

Keywords: Reading, Intervention, Action Research

I. Context and Rationale

The ultimate purpose of reading is to understand and make sense of the text being read. Every child who starts primary school usually learns to read during his/her ordinary developmental period. Reading is a complex process as it involves “sensation, perception, comprehension, application and integration”. It is the process of making and getting meaning from printed words and symbols. Reading as a whole, is a means of communication and of information and ideas. Reading is a vital tool to improve the critical thinking and opinion-making skills of the students
Since reading is key in formal education in literate societies worldwide, it is believed that a school’s first task is to ensure that the child can read efficiently. However, studies have shown that most children in third world countries have not acquired this skill to an acceptable level, which has hindered learners’ reading ability in later life. The World Bank’s database estimates that 53% of children in the third world or low-income countries and 80% in poor countries cannot read and understand a simple story. It was also revealed that more than 200 million children and youth in the world were out of school for the 2018 school year, with a total of 59 million of primary school age (Thulla, Moriba, Adom, & Mensah-Gborie, 2022).
In Philippine setting, efforts to promote literacy are encouraged by the government, organizations, or even private individuals as the ability to read and write is considered an utmost priority (Echaure & Torno, 2017). World Bank report that 9 out of 10 children in the Philippines at late primary age are not proficient in reading. The report, “The State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update,” sent many online communities into a frenzy. And rightfully so. There has been a learning crisis in low- and middle-income countries even before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the Philippines the already sorry state of public education was exacerbated by more than two years of remote learning (Oseña-Paez, 2022). Elementary school pupils in the Philippines are falling behind their counterparts in some Southeast Asian countries in reading, writing and mathematics, with a significant percentage of students still performing at levels expected in early years of primary education, a regional study showed (Balinbin, 2020).
Reading is indeed an essential tool for learning. However, reading is not only limited to being able to recognize words or reading the words aloud but also comprehending the meaning of the text. In the secondary level, students are expected to have mastered the reading skill in terms of phonetics, morphology and semantics. But reading comprehension is another aspect and is one of the greatest concerns of teachers. With this, this study is conducted to contribute to addressing the problem in the reading levels among Grade 6 pupils in a certain public elementary school in the Division of Panabo City, Davao del Norte, Philippines.

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