Action Research Title:4R’s (READ, RETELL, REACT, REFLECT) STRATEGY:

An Intervention to Improve Grade 3 Learners Reading Comprehension

I. Context and Rationale:

The issue of reading comprehension in schools is common and is undeniably

a pressing matter that needs to be attended to. It has been a critical concern for

schools because reading comprehension appears to be a unique problem that it

remains unresolved despite the efforts of scholars to improve the reading status of

students. When I read short stories in our English class, I make sure to follow up with

comprehension questions like, "What is the title of the story?" Who are the

protagonists of the narrative? Where is the setting of the story? What lesson can we

learn from this story's moral? How can you apply it to your daily life as a student?

Only two or three of them can accurately respond to questions 1 and 2, but when

asked to respond to the following questions they all give incorrect answers. When I

read the story to them in this scenario, I questioned them, "Are you listening class?"

"Dli mi kabalo mam" (we don't know mam), "Kapuy man gud ug paminaw sad mam,"

and "Maayo pag magdrawing na lang ta mam" were their responses when they were

questioned.

In fact, I must admit that the results of our Pre-test in the Philippine Informal

Reading Inventory (Phil - IRI) is disturbing as a Grade 3 teacher and reading

coordinator. There are 27 students in my class, and nearly none of them can

understand the questions that are being asked in the test.

I asked them “Nakasulay na ba mog basa or paminaw ug story

kadtong wala pa mo diri sa grade 3”? “Were you able to read or listen short
 stories during your early years before you entered grade 3? They replied,

“yes mam pero naundangan kay pandemic man mam “. (“yes mam, but it was

stopped because of the pandemic’’) “Kanang sa inyuhang balay basahan

mog story sa inyong mama or papa or kinsa sa inyong pamilya?” What about

at home, does your parents or any member of the family reads a story and

taught you how to answer comprehensively? “Wala mam kay sige mag

tarbaho gud si mama ug papa sa uma”. (No mam because my parents are

always on the farm). “Pero kabalo mubasa ug sulat inyong ginikanan?” But do

your parents know how to read and write? “Dili mam, la fulong” meaning they

doesn’t know how to read and write. “Unya karon paminaw ninyo paadtuon

tamog grade 4 next school year?” Do you think you could move to grade 4?

When I asked them the last question, they are so quiet. After listening to their

answers, I asked myself how will I help my grade 3 learners?

As one of the basic skills required in the classroom, reading takes a significant

role in a child's learning process as it is the most prominent language skill (Sadiku,

2015). As claimed by Helarde (2021), it is the mother of all study skills. However,

despite a long-standing awareness of reading comprehension as an integral

component of the learning process, it remains a critical concern for the schools in

Philippine education. Reading is a prerequisite in all learning areas (Tomas et al.

2021). It acts as a bridge for students in learning different fields of study because if a

learner struggles in reading, he may struggle with learning other subject areas. Every

learning institution must put great emphasis on the reading literacy of every learner

as it contributes to significant impacts on their general education.

professional life is significantly related to his or her reading proficiency (Block &

Israel, 2005, as cited by McKown & Barnett, 2007). Thus, every learner must have a

solid foundation in reading literacy as it is one of the most vital skills a person must

acquire. In the 2018 global survey called Program for International Assessment

(PISA) reported by The Manila Times, among the 600, 000 students worldwide,

Filipino students got an average reading score of 340 points which deficits to 147

points than the average of 487 falling into the last rank among 79 countries. With

these figures, it could be inferred that the reading comprehension of Filipino learners

is indeed very alarming. The status of reading comprehension of Filipino students

demands proactive efforts and measures that would elevate the present reading

literacy rate of Filipino learners.

With the aforesaid pressing matter, students' problems with reading

comprehension where 50% of them lacks the skills in reading comprehension. This

encourages me the urgency for the conduct the action research.

II. Action Research Questions:

This study will be conducted to develop an effective reading intervention

program to enhance the reading skills of grade 3 learners. Specifically, this will seek

answers to the question:

1. How can I improve the reading comprehension skills of the grade 3 learners

using the 4R’s intervention program?

With the use of the 4R technique, students become more active participants in

the reading process. In the first phase of the technique, the reader goes through text

recognition which is required for the subsequent tasks that will aid one in better text

understanding. Retelling comes as the second task. This step is anchored with

Dialogic Reading which is one of the bases of the intervention made for this action

research. The child learns to be a storyteller through dialogic reading (Whitehurst et

al., 1994). The text talk approach is a read-aloud strategy that aims to help students

expand their vocabulary (Beck & McKeown, 2001) and development of oral language

(Lonigan et al., 1999).

4R’s Reading Intervention Program

During this stage, the teacher engages the students in a discussion of their

knowledge or experiences that are relevant in some way to the content being read.

The teacher tries to facilitate students in drawing connections between the text's

content and their prior experience and knowledge. The teacher attempts to lead and

guide the students systematically through the cognitive processes associated with

interpreting a reading material in all four phases.

This strategy utilizes a comprehension strategy framework where readers monitor

their reading by following four subcategories: (a) pre-reading preparation; (b)

interpretation of ideas, sentences, and words within the text; (c) organizing,

synthesizing, and restructuring information and (d) going beyond text. One major

finding is that readers when learners apply a reading strategy that is meta cognitive

in nature, it encourages them to monitor their reading.

Retelling

Dialogic reading is one of the bases of the intervention made for this action

research. Significantly, dialogic reading is the technique of reading illustrated books

and utilizing dialogue to engage students in the text. However, this reading greatly

differs from ordinary readings. In traditional reading, an adult reads, and a child

listens, but in dialogic reading, the child learns to be a storyteller. The text talk

strategy is a read-aloud strategy aiming to foster vocabulary growth and

development of oral language.

Reacting

When students recognize the phrasal and syntactical structures the author is

using, they are also able to comprehend the text proficiently as the author intended.
Reflecting

In this process, the reader can restructure the information in the text based on

his/her ability to decode and working memory based on his/her schemata. While

readers interact with the text, they can support and assess their own understanding.

Now, when readers are conscious and aware of their understanding of the text,

metacognition takes place.

IV. ACTION Research Methods

a. Participants and/or other Sources of Data

The participants of this action research study are the grade 3 learners of

Tribal Filipino School of Datalfitak for quarters 1 and 2 for the School Year 2022-

2023. Prior to the conduct of this research, I already identified my participants, and

50 % of the class lacks the skill in reading comprehension. They live in a far-flung

area where most of the people who lives there doesn’t n know how to speak bisaya.

His previous reading intervention records as well as his personal data are utilized in

this study.

B. Data Collection and Data Gathering

The researcher will send a letter to the school head of Tribal Filipino School of

Datalfitak requesting for permission to conduct a study on 4R’s (READ, RETELL,

REACT, REFLECT) STRATEGY: A Way to Start the Reading Success of Grade 3

Pupils. The letter must be signed by the School Research Coordinator and the

School Head. Then, the researcher will draft its research proposal and submit it to
the division office for evaluation by the Research Committee. Also, the researcher

will ask the permission from the parents of Grade 3 pupils to be the respondent of

the study. Assist the Grade 3 pupils in reading comprehension. This will be done

through sending an approval letter to the parents and learners to seek answers why

this pupils did not comprehend simple questions from the story.

During the implementation stage, I conducted a pretest using the Phil-IRI tool
to assess the entry reading comprehension level of the participants. After the
pretest, the 4Rs strategy was introduced and was then followed by the 8-week
intervention implementation. On the first week, the learners are tested by conducting
the GST or Group Screening Test and Based on the result of the GST we can determine
the reading level of our learners. On the second week, the learners are categorized as
Independent, Instructional, Frustration and Non-Reader. On the 3 rd Week, they are given
reading materials based on their reading level like passages

Lastly, I conduct post-reading assessment using the Phil-IRI tool which will

show the improvement of the learners after the 8 Week Reading Remediation.

C. DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

The researcher will use the data based on the previous Individual Reading

Record Tool kept in the Reading Center. Also, the interview will serve as the basis of

background checking on how to deal with learners especially that the 4R’s Reading

intervention program will happen in his community. The recent Individual Reading

Progress Tool (IRPT) will show the improvement of learners after the full

implementation of the 8 – week 4R’s Reading intervention program using the four –

leveled manipulative and interactive activities. That data will be discussed and

reflected after analyzing the recorder reading progress by the reading coordinator.