ABSTRACT
(Purpose) The purpose of this study is to develop an intervention plan to increase the reading level of STNCS learners. (Methods)Descriptive statistics were utilized to determine frequency and percentage to describe the variables of the study. The respondents were chosen were learners from the learners of Sto. Tomas North Central School S.Y. 2021-2022. Pre-online reading scores of respondents were taken to acquire the information to be compared. Then, the teachers conducted online reading sessions with the learners and utilization of intervention materials through home-based learning with the assistance of parents/guardians was done under the intervention plan proposed. After several months, an online post-reading assessment was done. Scores after the utilization of crafted intervention materials were collected, analyzed, tabulated, and interpreted for statistical treatment. (Findings) On the reading level of learners in English before the utilization of Intervention Program, it was shown that there were 30 % (664 learners) of the population was rated Fast readers, 35% (764 learners) Average readers, 25% (554 learners) Slow readers, and 10% (232) Struggling readers in English. On the reading level of learners in English after the utilization of Intervention Program it was shown that in English, fast readers increased to 48% (1065 learners), average readers became 32%(718 learners), slow readers decreased to 15%(340 learners), and struggling readers decreased to 5% (101 learners). This showed that intervention plan is effective in increasing the level of reading skills of learners. (Values) Researcher wants to propose an intervention plan to improve the level of reading skills among learners.
Keywords: Intervention plan, utilization, assessment
INTRODUCTION
Elementary school in which individuals receive basic education is the first stage of formal education, in that it has prominent roles in instructional activities. The most crucial of these responsibilities is to provide pupils with language proficiency. Teaching reading and writing is of significance for individuals to acquire and develop reading comprehension skills in the next grades. Reading and writing classes in elementary school have an important function in teaching students reading comprehension skills.
One of the four key language skills that students should acquire is reading. It is a method of knowledge acquisition that is inextricably linked to all learning processes and occurs not only in the classroom but also in our day-to-day lives. Books, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, and other materials are read by people to gain knowledge and information. The country claims that reading is a fun and educational activity.
Reading is undeniably important in a student's capacity to learn. This macro-skill allows students to gain knowledge to improve their academic performance. A good reader reads fluently and understands what he is reading. This is what the teacher wants to happen in her class; they should read carefully and respond to the questions regarding the selection they have read.
It can help students learn a new vocabulary and grammar. It also makes them enjoy the reading. They can learn more and more by reading. According to Richard, reading means perceiving a written text to understand its contents. This can be done silently (silent reading). It refers to a specific method by which readers comprehend texts, paragraphs, passages, and even entire books, as well as their capacity to comprehend and ascertain the information supplied in written form.
Reading is the foundation of comprehension, which is the foundation of learning. Reading comprehension requires the effective utilization of cognitive structure and the latter requires sentient behaviors by the individual namely, awareness of his own cognition system. (Aksan, 2009)
Papatga (2016) asserts that one of the fundamental abilities that kids should learn in the early years of elementary school is reading comprehension. They can succeed in school and in life if they can learn reading comprehension skills. Gaining reading comprehension skills appears to be even more crucial and useful, particularly in elementary school, which is the first stage of a child's education. These are the kinds of skills that students use in every course, and they have a direct impact on their academic lives.
Students can use a variety of skills to help them understand written forms. As cited by Johnson (2018) reading comprehension skills are strategies readers use to retrieve information and construct meaning from expository text. They are thought processes that have been divided into manageable steps. These comprehension techniques are simple to pick up and apply to a range of reading contexts. Brown (2011) stated, perhaps the most valuable strategies for learners (as well as native speaker) are skimming and scanning strategies. Several skills above can be improved, trained, and developed as the way the students grow. Enhancing one's comprehension abilities in reading is essential to becoming a proficient and productive reader.
For years, the Sto. Tomas North Central School has promoted its advocacy in improving the learners’ reading ability. Learners who have been found out to be struggling underwent reading interventions for them to improve. Expectedly, the interventions had positive impact for the school.
Sto. Tomas Central School supports the Department of Education program “Every Child A Reader Program” which aims to make every Filipino child a reader at his grade level. Following the onset of COVID 19 school closure, a substantial number of students have been disconnected from learning during the pandemic; developing the reading ability of the learner was not given emphasis. It is obvious that the pandemic has hampered students' progress in reading.
Sto. Tomas North Central School has a population of 2217 learners from Grade 1 to Grade 6. After the consolidation of the Pre-test oral reading assessment, it was shown that there were 30 % (664 learners) of the population was rated Fast readers, 35% (764 learners) Average readers, 25% (554 learners) Slow readers, and 10% (232) Struggling readers in English. While in Filipino there were 35% (772 learners) Fast readers, 37% (825 learners) Average readers, 21% (456 learners) Slow readers, and 7% (158 learners) Struggling readers in Filipino. This percentage of slow readers, the researcher was very eager to improve their reading skills through flexible intervention program.
see PDF attachment for more information