Factors Affecting Reading Comprehension of Grade 8-Einstein Students in Reading Historical Events at Lananpin National High School S.Y. 2014-2015

Abstract

Introduction

The difficulty of reading comprehension hinders the academic growth of Grade 8-students of Lananpin National High School S.Y. 2014-2015 especially in reading historical events. They may fail to understand keywords and their relevance to one another. The researcher thoroughly studied the factors affecting the reading comprehension of Grade 8-students and suggested different strategies to develop their appreciation of historical reading.

Methods

In this study, descriptive research was used. Pre-test and post-test were used as the main data gathering instrument. A formula was used to interpret the data and obtain the salient findings in the study. The researcher intended to apply different strategies or methods to be used in the reading comprehension skill of her students. Develop vocabulary knowledge, summarizing, use of graphic organizers and develop comprehension monitoring were introduced.

Results

From the data gathered in the study, the findings were: during the pre-test, 51.16% among the students are under the category Frustration; 25.58% under Instructional and 23.26% under the Independent reading comprehension category. Thus, students of Grade 8-Einstein lack reading comprehension skills.After conducting the pre-assessment, different strategies were introduced: Develop Vocabulary Knowledge, Summarizing, Use of Graphic Organizers, and Develop Comprehension Monitoring. The post-test was then conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies. Under the different categories: Frustration percentage was reduced 13.95%, Instructional percentage was increased to 30.23% and the Independent category also increased to 55.81%. The reduction of Frustration category students' suggests that the strategies used were effectively delivered by the researcher.

Discussions

Teachers must focus on extensive comprehension instruction with all students. The successful reader is not just about speed reading, it is about comprehension and new knowledge that the readers' gain. Although this study focuses on the students who have difficulties in reading comprehension especially in reading historical sources, students with advanced skills in reading comprehension might get bored while the teacher applies the methods mentioned. The researcher suggests that this situation can be used as another strategy called Peer tutoring whereas students of different ability levels in reading work together. When students are engaging in peer tutoring, improvement occurs. Further studies may be conducted for greater improvement.