Project Acceleread: Intensive Reading Activities for Struggling Grade One Readers of Edilberto L. Mendoza Memorial Elementary School , Lipa City Division

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Reading ability has increasingly become a very important tool to access information and knowledge through variety of media, such as internet and newspapers. Literacy is also strongly associated with the development of a country. A high rate of literacy often becomes one of the most significant indicators of a country development in general. Literacy has in addition becomes an important form of communication skill that may locate someone in the market place, a place where life chances are determined (Weber 2006), and social mobility is enabled (Mitch 2005). It is furthermore a manifestation of the developmental and egalitarian function of education (Levin, 2010) in democratic society.

METHODS

The researcher utilized the descriptive type of research. The researcher used quantitative approaches to obtain data from the respondents. According to Aquino (2011) a descriptive type of research involves a description, recording, analysis and, interpretation of the present nature, composition, process or phenomenon. This study fit the use of descriptive research since the researcher determined the difficulties of the grade one learners in reading so as to use Acceleread strategy to improve their reading ability.

RESULTS

1. The Grade 1 learners performed fair based on their reading achievements on phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and comprehension.

There were reading gaps identified in the skills of Grade 1 learners' terms of phonics, phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and comprehension.

The challenges encountered by the learners in reading included guessed, mispronounced or skipped words while reading, forgot words even right after being helped, cannot spell, difficulty to recognize letter sounds when trying to sound out words, resisted reading, reading was behind compared to other subjects, cannot read for long periods, and does not enjoy reading.

DISCUSSIONS

Project Acceleread's Reading Fair and My Reading Buddy activities could be employed to address the challenges encountered by the students in reading in areas of guesses, mispronounces or skips words while reading, forgets words even right after being helped, cannot spell, difficulty to recognize letter sounds when trying to sound out words, resists reading, reading is behind compared to other subjects, cannot read for long periods, and does not enjoy reading.