Developmental Reading Enhancement to Achieve Mastery ( DREAM) Program and Comprehension Level of Grade 7 Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

This research was funded by the Provincial Government of Albay through the Graduate School Subsidy Program (GRASSP).

Developmental Reading Enhancement to Achieve Mastery (DREAM) is a reading program conceptualized and crafted by the researcher as an innovation/ intervention to address the alarming situation of the poor comprehension level of the grade VII students. Its purpose is to reduce if not totally eliminate the large margin between independent readers against those under the frustration level. Its goal is to provide as many opportunities as possible that would enhance and teach the students the skills or strategies they will need to improve their reading comprehension.

This school-based reading program was designed and tailored to meet the needs of diverse learners. The study aimed to find out the comprehension level of secondary students in the Tabaco City Division particularly the Grade 7 students of San Lorenzo National High School SY 2017-2018.

METHODS

The study employed the experimental design utilizing pre and post-test using stratified randomization sampling with 33 respondents from experimental and 33 from the control group. The teacher used a -50 item test for the students to test the reading comprehension skills along: a) noting details, b) getting the main idea, c) predicting outcomes, d) inferring and e) drawing conclusions.

RESULTS

The result showed that before the introduction of the DREAM program, the Grade 7 students in San Lorenzo High School were in the Frustration level in terms of Reading Comprehension. After the introduction of the DREAM program, those who were in the Frustration level in terms of Reading Comprehension moved to a higher level which is Instructional. It means that the DREAM program achieved its objective of assisting the learners in advancing their reading comprehension status.

DISCUSSIONS

Based on the findings the following conclusions were advanced: English teachers may utilize the DREAM program authored by the researcher to improve the reading performance of the students. Teachers may also develop an intervention similar to the present undertaking that would integrate lessons to improve the reading comprehension of the students. Varied instructional materials may be devised in order to enhance the reading level of the learners.