The Reading Performance of Grade I Learners through Targeted Early Reading Interventions

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of various reading approaches on the reading performance of Grade I pupils in the San Miguel District, Bohol, Philippines. The primary objective is to examine how different teaching interventions influence reading skills, specifically phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, and fluency. The research employs a descriptive design, utilizing a quantitative method that includes pretest-posttest assessments to 515 grade 1 pupils and a survey questionnaire administered to 27 Grade I teachers. The study used the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool to evaluate the students' reading abilities before and after the intervention. The study results show a noteworthy advancement within the pupils' reading performance over different components, such as introduction to print (expanded from 58% to 94.5%), letter title information (expanded from 12% to 76.2%), and reading comprehension (expanded from 1.6% to 44.3%), after the implementation of the interventions. It was found that the reading strategies used by the teachers positively impacted the reading skills of Grade 1 pupils, as the p-value is less than 0.05, indicating the differences between reading intervention and reading performance. However, it was established that there is no significant association between pupil score gain and the frequency of use of the various reading interventions. Based on these results, the study recommends the continued use of diverse reading interventions and the integration of other teaching technologies.