STRUGGLING READER WHO IS NOW BACK IN THE MAINSTREAM GRADE 1

CLASS AT DINARAYAT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

By Francis Kenneth D. Hernandez, CAR-PhD

Principal I

Victoria Reyes Elementary School, City Schools Division of Dasmariñas

Context and Rationale

Learning to read, especially in one's first language, is arguably the most

significant accomplishment of the first few years of formal schooling (Pado, 2015).

Reading fluently in L1, coupled with good comprehension, opens doors to human

knowledge and achievements while finishing school. On the contrary, Alverman (2001)

claimed that failure to acquire the necessary literacy skills in the early years of schooling

often leads to learners' disappointments in classroom activities, disengagement from the

educational process, and drastically lowering their expectations for success beyond

school. Lonigan, Burgess, and Anthony (2000) concluded that when teachers in the

emergent literacy stage overlook children's struggles, a problem of having more

struggling readers occurs and subsists in the classrooms. These learners even when

they are promoted to a higher grade level are likely to become academically-

disconnected pupils (Swanson, 1999, & Clay, 1985).

Acceptably in most public elementary schools, there are many children who do

not achieve an appropriate reading ability level on this crucially important literacy

process. Reading vis-à-vis literacy should be understood as more of an affective

endeavor in learning because when the affective filter of the child is high, he or she may

be hesitant to learn even when exposed to the best teacher (Krashen, 1988b). On the

other hand, if the child's affective filter is low, it is easier for him or her to accept

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comprehensible inputs and process those for understanding to happen. Aside from the

deficit and under developed cognitive factors, impaired readers usually have been

emotionally-troubled or traumatized by the not-so-ideal family experiences and age-

expected curriculum demands which contradict the developmentally-appropriate

activities young learners can and need to accomplish with success (Pado, 2015).

Elliot (2005) asserted that while low and slow progress in reading have serious

consequences for all children, it is especially critical for children who are already placed

at-risk by other psycho-social factors to be given proper attention by the school system.

Guimary (2008), in her study concluded that a learner's failure to develop the skills

necessary to read a text accurately has a negative effect on his or her current and

future reading skill development. The immediate effect as confirmed by Archer,

Gleason, and Vachon (2003), is that the child will have limited or no comprehension of

the content because he or she cannot correctly decode the words, thereby producing a

struggling reader or a child with a learning disability.

As the pupil progresses through school, the content becomes more complex and

dense with more and more challenging terminologies (Chiappe, Chiappe, & Gottardo,

2004). Hence, if the pupil did not develop effective decoding skills, Graff (1994) said that

this child will not be able to comprehend the content in other learning areas which could

lead to serious frustrations and possible academic failure.

For this school year 2015-2016, a Grade 1 teacher, identified one special case of

transferee child. He is an eleven-year old boy who was enrolled for the third time in

Grade 1 but was not able to finish a school year on that grade level. He had been in

three different schools in Laguna and in Dasmariñas. Her adviser noticed that he was a

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very shy boy and did not want to participate in any class activities. Since this boy was

included in Section 1 wherein activities were more advanced as compared to the other

five sections, her teacher began noticing that he had difficulty in reading words. When

there were other group activities, he just stayed in his chair and did not want to mingle

with his other classmates. For that week, the teacher made the same observations. She

then referred the case to the school head who suggested that a background check be

done to identify the causes of the problem and that appropriate intervention be

accorded to the boy so he would not again stop schooling.

The above reported case prompted the school head to conduct this action

research on how a struggling child could be given the right intervention so he would

enjoy the mainstream education as a normal pupil and eventually finish Grade 1. Also,

as a priority school for the implementation of the Early Literacy and Numeracy Program

for K to 3, this venture became the opportunity to endeavor this study if the trainings

gained by the teacher could be tested for effectiveness and eventually be applied on a

school-wide context to assist more identified struggling readers at the school.

Review of Related Literature

Ideally, Lipson and Wixson (2003) claimed that successful reading happens

when the child is in his or his normal condition and is supported by a conducive, print-

rich environment. Conversely, a reading disability arises when children are emotionally

burdened or affected by outside school factors which hamper their learning literacy

development (Chiappe, Hasher, & Siegel, 2000). Thus, their attitudes towards reading

should be measured if teachers wanted to correct those (McKenna and Kear, 1990).

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 Lubliner (2004) concluded in his empirical study that proficient reading requires

children to decode and comprehend simultaneously as they move through a text. Juel

and Minden-Cupp (2000) and Juel (1991) added that children's capacity to hold

information in memory is very limited; and in the initial stages of reading, decoding

requires nearly all of their cognitive resources and facilities.

In general, not all pupils in schools can successfully read (Ehri, 2002). There are

many unidentified pupils with reading difficulties. Simply, they are termed as struggling

readers who read words, but struggle with comprehension (Swanson, 1999). They are

then unable to focus on comprehension. Pado (2015) explained that these readers who

have failed to develop automatic, proficient skills and they continue to switch back and

forth from decoding to comprehension. This process becomes increasingly difficult and

ineffective as text demands accelerate while reading skills remain static. In other words,

children cannot comprehend what they cannot read; much more if a child was not given

the right opportunity to develop basic reading strategies. This problem according to

Hecht, Burgess, Torgessen, Wagnes, and Rashotte (2000) is further exacerbated at

formal schooling where reading for understanding increases across content areas as

these pupils progress in grade levels. Thus, they become disconnected with classroom

work and develop hatred to the school.

Juel, Griffith, and Gough (1996) argued that children with poor reading skills

frequently have lower self-esteem, encounter more disciplinary difficulties, and are less

likely to graduate than more adept readers. However, according to Mercer, Campbell,

Miller, Mercer, and Lane (2000) and Lie (1991), a well-planned story-based intervention

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program which underscores the importance of an effective reading instruction can save

pupils at-risk of dropping out in schools.

Out of the convergence of the reviewed literature and studies cited, they gave the

justification for this study to be conducted.

Research Questions

This paper was primarily intended to identify the causes of the reading problems

of a single child which became the basis of an evidence-based intervention for him to

catch up to the lessons and be back in the mainstream advanced section in Grade 1.

Specifically, this answered the following.

1. What is the background profile of the subject child?

2. What are his reading disability and the causes of the problem?

3. What intervention was accorded to the subject child to improve his reading ability

and self-esteem?

4. How effective is the intervention as to the child's performance as he continues in

the mainstream class after the remediation?

Scope and Limitation

This action research was focused on a single case of a ten year-old Grade 1

child who was enrolled at Victoria Reyes Elementary School this current school year. It

phenomenologically and qualitatively attempted to identify the reading difficulty, its

causes, and the attitude of the child which were improved by the intervention suggested

by the school head and agreed by the adviser, the remediation teacher, and the

guardian.

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 Data were gathered from June 8, 2015 to the first week of August before the

administration of the first periodical examinations. Information beyond the specified

period was no longer a part of this study because the study's aim was to make the

subject child be back in the mainstream classes with improved class performance and

self-esteem.

Methodology

A combination of simple phenomenological method by Waters (n.d) and

qualitative technique by Savin-Baden, M. & Major, C. (2013) was utilized in this study

and data were collected through interviews and observations. Also, a single case study

was employed because the child was the oldest in class and his background information

revealed that his enrolment was for the third time unlike his classmates who took

preschool education.

The written agreement was prepared and acknowledged by the school head, the

adviser, the remediation teacher, and the guardian. It was stipulated that the guardian

would send the boy daily from June 2015 up to the last week of July. It was also agreed

that the boy would bring his own extra notebook which was used for the remediation

sessions. Observed daily progress of the child by the remediation teacher and the

adviser were compiled in a notebook and reported to the school head. The guardian

was also informed daily on the boy's progress in reading and on his participation in

classroom activities. Informal interviews were done to the child by the school head, by

the adviser, and by the remediation teacher in order to gather first-hand information on

the boy's background. Separate interviews were also conducted to the guardian to cross

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validate the answers. Data were transcribed using the Long Table Approach and

themes were identified.

The above became the basis for the analyses of the data which answered the

identified research questions.

Workplan

June July August

1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week 4th Week 1st Week 2nd Week 3rd Week 4th Week 1st Week
Observatio Interview Remedial Remedial Remedial Remedial Remedial Remedial Immersion of
n with the session session session session session session the child
guardian without the
and the Use of Review of Review of Review of Review of Review of remediation
subject basic to phonics phonics phonics phonics phonics
child and levelled Observation
preparation materials Use of Use of Use of Use of Use of
of the levelled levelled levelled levelled levelled Assessment
agreement Observatio materials materials materials materials materials and decision-
n and making for
Assessmen random Observatio Observatio Observatio Observatio Observatio continuance
t of the interview n and n and n and n and n and or
child random random random random random discontinuanc
Daily interview interview interview interview interview e of the
Preparation reporting Daily Daily Daily Daily Daily sessions
of the and weekly reporting reporting reporting reporting reporting
materials conference and weekly and weekly and weekly and weekly and weekly
for conference conference conference conference conference
remediation
Assessmen
Remedial t and
session decision-
making

Upon the school head's approval to conduct the necessary intervention, an

agreement was made by the adviser and by the remediation teacher. The guardian was

interviewed regarding the family background of the child and on the reason why the

child was not able to complete the many enrolments made for the boy. This was done

on the first two days of the remediation sessions. The child was also interviewed

randomly to gather information from him. The remediation was conducted two hours

every afternoon after the child was off his morning classes.

The child's reading ability was assessed and even if he was an older child, it

revealed that he lacked the ability to recognize letters and the corresponding sounds.

The appropriate remediation materials were prepared at a minimal cost because used

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coupon bonds and cartolina were utilized for the practice drills and on picture-word

visuals while some materials used were printed from the computer. Gradually, progress

was evident during the first week. When the remediation teacher observed that the boy

could now read basic sight words, short passages intended for a beginning reader were

made available and these were used on the second week. In the course of the

remediation period, the degree of difficulty of the words used for review were prepared

and were used for the succeeding daily sessions until finally, the boy's reading ability

improved.

1. Background Profile of the Subject Child

Interview conducted to the guardian revealed that the boy was a neglected child.

He was the fourth child from a sibling of seven. His father hailed from Bulacan while his

mother was from Laguna. Two of his brothers were living with their grandparents from

his father while the other two stayed with their mother's relatives. This was confirmed by

the boy who said, "Pito po kaming magkakapatid pero hiwa-hiwalay po kami ng tirahan."

He added, "Tita ko po ang nag-aalaga sa aming tatlo at nasa probinsya yung iba."

When asked about his relationship to his guardian, he replied, "Kapatid po siya ng tatay

ko."

According to the guardian, she took care of the three children because his

parents broke up when he was seven years old. At his early age, he was exposed to his

parent's quarrel regarding his father's problems on womanizing. He was left by her

mother who was now working abroad as a domestic helper so she never had any time

to take care of the child. He was transferred in a school here at Dasmariñas from

Pagsanjan because he was being maltreated there by his relatives.

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 Further interview done to the child gave a very heart-breaking comment, "May

asawa na po kasing iba ang aking tatay at ayoko naman po tumira sa kanila." This reply

gave the hint that this child was exposed to problems rooted in the family and this also

explained the reasons why his self-esteem is very low. When he was interviewed why

he never completed any of his Grade 1 enrolment, his response was, "Patigil-tigil po

ako." He added, "Wala naman po ang aking mama at para pong pinabayaan na nya

kami." When asked regarding his non-participation to school activities and being so

timid, his comment was, "Nahihiya po ako kasi mas matanda na ako sa kanila e baka

pagtawanan" which confirmed Juel, Griffith, and Gough's (1996) view of his lowering

self-esteem; and "Tsaka po natatamad na ako kasi hindi ko naman po naiintindihan

kung ano ang mga ginagawa at sinasabi ng aking teacher." He further stated, "Hindi po

ako marunong magbasa. These data confirmed the contentions of Alverman (2000) that

a child's failure to acquire basic literacy skills could lead to disengagement, lack of

interest in classroom works, and frustrations which was noted by Graff (1994).

Indeed, it is important to establish the background of an identified pupil with

learning disability since valuable information could be very helpful for the teacher to

provide necessary help and intervention.

2. Reading Problem of the Subject Child and its Reason

He was given available colored books and his behavior was observed. Pre-

assessment of the child's reading ability prior to the intervention showed that he was still

very shy and hesitant to open up a conversation. This was explained by Krashen

(1988b) on his view of emotional learning and was supported by Chiappe, et al, brought

about by the boy's emotional problem if the basis is going back to his background. He

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was having difficulty to identify letter-sounds. He could not also read printed Tagalog

words yet even at his age but can identify pictures in the storybooks with enthusiasm as

shown in his face. It now gave a hint to the remediation teacher that the problem of this

boy was more of phonics first. When the child was interviewed regarding his previous

reading experiences, he mentioned that he was not given enough opportunity to read

and mingle with his former classmates because of his situation and recurring

transferring from one school to another which was the dominant factor why his reading

ability was undeveloped which Guimary (2014) attributed to other factors hampering the

development of a child's reading skills. He said, "Di po ako sigurado kung matatapos ko

po ulit ang Grade 1." This concern was confirmed by Lipson and Wixon (2003) who

claimed that for successful reading to happen, a child should be exposed to a conducive

and a print-rich environment in which the subject boy was not given enough opportunity.

He also said he began hating school because he anticipated being transferred again.

Hence, this predicament led him to be disinterested in reading and in other school work

like what Guimary (2008) contended. Also, the interview with the guardian revealed that

there were no available reading materials in their homes plus no one would take the

time to teach the boy if ever there were. Simply, the reasons behind his reading

disability and somewhat negative attitude towards learning were brought about by the

family problem and the present circumstances he was exposed to.

As regards this case, Krashen (1988b) and Archer, et al. (2003) were right in

saying that a child's positive attitude towards learning is greatly affected by emotionally-

burden-free factors. Hence, the child could have been reading successfully now if he

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was given the chance and he was not traumatized by his parent's problems and

accompanying family factors.

3. Intervention Accorded to the Subject Child to Improve his Reading Ability

and Self-Esteem

Upon identifying the reading ability level of the child, he was given situations for

him to express himself. He was interviewed and all his answers were noted. His

remediation teacher started reading simple stories and he was asked literal questions

which at first he hesitated to answer. The school head made daily follow ups to check

on the boy. In the early two days of the session, it was observed that the boy was not

yet at ease with the situation. On the third day, he was with his guardian and the latter

was oriented to encourage the child not to miss the two-hour daily session. Different

Tagalog stories were regularly read to him wherein simple words placed in cartolina

strips were introduced to him to sound the words and later on for him to read the sound-

letter correspondence. The question and answer became a routine to check his

comprehension. It was noticed that he was making fast progress so he was introduced

leveled Tagalog passage for his grade where there would be a review on phonics first

on the words that he would encounter in the texts he would be reading for the session.

Additional exercises were introduced until finally, it was decided that he could now catch

up with the regular class work.

The weekly results and observations were presented by the adviser and the

remediation to the school head who suggested that different activities be given to the

boy in the mainstream class every morning. Thus, the teacher prepared differentiated

instructions for him and for those pupils who seem to experience the same situation as

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he. This was done in order that his socialization skills would be developed and a sense

of stigma could not be felt. Leveled Tagalog stories were given too as enrichment

lessons during recess. The guardian was also asked of her observations at home.

It was proven that a carefully planned intervention appropriate to the needs of a

child with reading difficulties can be remedied through the conscientious effort of the

school head, the teacher, the remedial teacher, and the guardian as what Mercer,

Campbell, Miller, Mercer, and Lane (2000) shared in saving pupil at-risk. With the

careful intervention done in this action research, it is very safe to say that the one-on-

one intervention program for a struggling child will be very helpful although it may seem

a tedious task and it needs extra patience on the part of the ones providing it.

4. Effectiveness of the intervention as to the Child's Performance as He

Continues in Mainstream Class

At the start of August before the first periodical test was administered, the boy no

longer attended the remediation session so his participation in class could be observed;

but with the agreement with the adviser that if she would notice negative signs again, he

would be placed under the one-on-one remediation program developed for him.

The adviser complied with the suggestion that the boy like any other left behind

in the class be given reading texts and activities suited to their reading ability levels. The

adviser was amazed of the child's performance. He now showed happiness and from

being a very shy boy, he started mingling and playing with most of his classmates. He

can even read with correct letter-sounding and can answer the comprehension

questions the teacher was asking about the passages assigned to his group. He had

finally developed the love for schooling because he was able to experience

achievement in reading and in other classroom activities. Interestingly, it is not only in

Page 12 of 16
the language arts that he could participate well but in all the subjects being taught for

Grade 1 and most importantly, he never missed classes since the remediation started

as evident in the SF2 of his adviser. This was achieved by the process done which

conformed to what Pado (2015) claimed that providing developmentally-appropriate

activities which children with literacy disabilities could accomplish, would give them a

sense of success. When the boy was interviewed, he happily said, "Masaya na po ako

ngayon at excited po ako pumasok," and "Hindi na po ako nahihiya sa mga kaklase ko."

He continued, "Sana po maging Grade 2 na ako."

From the analyses and the immediate results, it is safe to say that the

intervention is effective considering that the child is now back at his mainstream class

where he is coping up with the daily task making him regain his self-esteem and

developing love for school as shown by his regular attendance to his class brought

about by the differentiated instruction applied by his teacher. It had proven that the use

of varying activities could save a struggling reader from being on the frustration level to

at least become a little higher or maybe instructional to independent. This could be

applied to any identified pupil with literacy disability to have positive attitude to school

and to learning as well. It may be a difficult extra task but it is worth trying to save

struggling readers at the school on a school wide level of implementation.

Action Plan for School-wide Implementation

Key Result Objective Strategies/ Person Time Expected Means of

Area Activities Involved Frame Outcome Verification
Establishing Identify pupils Knowing the School head, First Week of Pupil with LD Memorandum,
Baseline Data with LD learners through all teachers June were screening
of Pupils with individual and diagnosed and records, and
LD group identified signed letter of
Inform the communication Teachers, Second Week agreements
parents or activities parents and of June Parents or
guardians on guardians guardians were
the remediation Parent-Teacher informed and
plan Meeting their
cooperation

Page 13 of 16
 was sought.
Preparation of Prepare Meeting with the Teachers Third Week of Schedules for Schedules and
the schedule of the Grade Chairs June remediation compilation of
Remediation remediation and the teachers were available remedial
Sessions session and teachers materials like
were given picture-word
assignments visual aids and
levelled
passages

Prepare Writeshop, Teachers of A collection of

passages and coaching, different remediation
remedial mentoring, peer grade level materials was
materials activities available for
use
Implementation Implement the School-wide School head, Fourth Week Remediation Attendance
of the Remedial remedial implementation advisers, and of June sessions were sheets,
Sessions sessions of the remedial remediation onwards conducted as remediation
program (one-on- teachers scheduled. notebooks and
one and group) accomplished
remedial
exercises
Monitoring and Monitor and Assessment of School head, Year round Pupils' Performance/
Evaluation evaluate the performance of advisers, and performance Observation
implementation pupils in the remediation were assessed reports and
remediation teachers and results of
sessions and in effectiveness of classroom
class the remediation assessments
was monitored

References

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Archer, A, Gleason, A.M., & Vachon, V.L. (2003). Decoding and fluency: Foundation
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school students who struggle with learning: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and
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