2006 6

29 3

CELEA JournalBim onthly

Jun2006
Vol
29 No
3

ENHANCING PUPILS READING COMPREHENSION AND

ATTITUDES THROUGH A WHOLE LANGUAGE
INSPIRED
LITERATURE
BASED READING PROGRAM
Melissa Alm a R Orencia
Philippine Nor m al University
Manila Philippines

Abstract
inspired literature
based reading program on
This research examined the effects of a w hole language
pupils reading co m prehension and attitudes to ward readingIt e m ployed a naturalistic research design to
uncover the usefulness of such a program in im proving children s reading co m prehension and attitudesResults
of the study sho wed that the program had a positive im pact on pupils co m prehension and attitudes to ward
readingIn the program
children were given am ple opportunitiesto take an active role in their o w n learning
Factors believed to have contributed to theirim proved co m prehension were
the regularindependent activities
the engage ment activities
the learner
centered classroo m environ ment
the broader view of reading underlying
the program the teacher s regular de m onstrations of reading strategies and the daily reading activities
Attitudes were evidently enhanced by the supportive learning atm osphere the many varied and interesting
activities the presence of literacy centers the teacher s daily reading aloud of stories the pupils regular
opportunities to read self
selected reading materials and activities and the use of high quality children s
literature
Key w ords
w hole language
literature
reading co m prehension
attitude

Introduction
Why does the Philippines continue to be an underdeveloped and poor nation Despite its high literacy
rate
it is evident that Filipinos are not a reading populaceFilipinos per capita consu m ption of books
newspapers and other publications is way beyond their East Asian neighbors Ople 1993 Locsin 1992
Ne m enzo 1992
De Quiros1994also noted that the country s standards of literacy are not the highest
in the w orld
Clay 1993 declared that school reading progra ms affect the develop m ent of a nation They
determine the literacy and aliteracy of a peopleIdeally
reading progra ms ought to produce students w ho
can and will read as a habitHowever at least four studiesGonzales Sibayan 1988 the SOUTELE
DECS 1976 PRODED DECS 1988 1990 and the EDCOM Report 1991 showed Filipino
schoolchildren s poor reading achieve m entThey exposed that children only learn only half of w hat they
are supposed to learn in school The sm all percentage of readership in the country and the dism al
perform ance of pupils in tests on reading de m onstrate the failure of m any local schools to effectively
foster the aims of reading education
People s survival and satisfaction in today s age of inform ation explosion depend largely on their
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Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

ability to read and write proficiently and critically More than basic reading and writing
literacy today
m ust be viewed m ore broadly to m ean
the use of reading and writing to achievepersonal
expression enjoy m ent learning understanding insight co m m unication survival and cultural
participation
16
Herm osa 1991

The battle againstilliteracy and the widespread aliteracy in ca m puses can only be w on by creating and
im ple m enting reading progra ms that will generate self
propelling and productive citizens Hiebert Colt
1989 Tunnel Jacobs 1989
The progress of a nation relies m uch on a truly literate citizenry w ho can
use reading and writing to im prove their lives This inquiry therefore responds to the challenge of
fostering genuine love for reading w hile im proving co m prehension to help eradicate illiteracy in the new
millenniu m

State ment of the Proble m

The general aim of this research was to create a w hole language
inspired literature
based reading
progra m that w ould enhance pupils reading co m prehension and attitudes
Specifically
it purported to
1organize a w hole language
inspired literature
based reading progra m to im prove pupils
co m prehension and attitudes
2try
out the w hole language inspired literature
based reading progra m to a group of pupils
3analyze the outco m es of pupils exposure to the w hole language
inspired reading progra m on their
co m prehension and attitudes

ConceptualTheoretical Fra mework

The question of how to pro m ote reading so that it beco m es a m eaningful and habitual activity for
pupils served as the im petus for this researchCutiongco and Ta midlesin Mauricio 1995claim ed that
the failure of reading instruction in our schools could be attributed to tw o m ajor factors
1 children s
view of reading as a task and2their association of reading with rigid classroo m structures
If children find reading boring difficult and unpleasant and if they barely read during their free
tim e
then everything that teachers do in the classroo m to pro m ote reading develop m ent needs to be
reassessedThe proble m calls for an exa mination of teachers philosophical orientation their classroo m
practices and their m anner of evaluating learning To create a significant positive change in pupils
reading co m prehension and attitudes teachers m ust consider w hat current researches say about reading
instruction and endeavor to m atch their theoretical beliefs practices and assessm ent with the findings
The w hole language philosophy aptly articulates the reforms perceived by this researcher as needed to
address children s literacy proble ms As a fra m ew ork for an effective reading progra m proponents of
w hole language hold the following tenets
1a holistic perspective to literacy learning and teaching
2
a positive view of alllearners
3language as centralto learning
4learning as easiest w hen itis fro m
w hole to part in authentic context and functional
5 the e m powerm ent of all learners including
teachers
6 learning as both personal and social and classroo ms as learning co m m unities 7
acceptance of w hole learnersincluding theirlanguages
cultures and experiences
and8learning as both
joyous and fulfilling Watson 1994
602

Good m an1992 su m m arized the principal beliefs of w hole language as

1 a positive view of
hu m an learners strong capable of learning and eager to learn
2a redefinition of the teacher s role
teachers as m ediators and facilitators
3language as central to learning and learned best and m ost
easily in authentic situations and w hen serving realfunctions
and4w hole language as a dual curriculu m
every activity or event is an opportunity to develop both language and cognitionPahl and Monson
1992focused on the changing role of the classroo m teacher and the curriculu m reorientation that
consequently affect her
hisinstructional behaviorsTeaching
they stress should shift fro m the traditional
transmission instructional m odel to one w hich engages teachers in co m plex transactions with learners
Moreover
fro m being sim ply im ple m enters of curricula prescribed byexperts
teachers are encouraged
by the w hole language philosophy to beco m e e m powered by using their professional knowledge bases to
innovate in their classroo ms
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CELEA Journal 67

Translated to reading instruction Cullinan1992delineated the basic principles of w hole language

into three
1children learn to read by reading
2reading is a part of language and is learned in the
sa m e way as other forms of language and3learning in one area of language helps learning in other
areasShe noted that good literature is central to the develop m ent of reading and writing and serves as
the foundation of an effective Language Arts Progra m

The Reading Process

Based on the w hole language perspective
teachers view of reading m ust also be m odifiedFro m the
conventional skills orientation w hich tends to be highly m echanistic and teacher
centered reading m ust
now be conceived as a transactive
interactive process and as a highly elaborate m eaning construction
activityAs described by Hittle m an1988
2
it is athinking
linguistic cultural
social process that is
interrelated with and supportive of other co m m unication processes of listening
speaking and writing

Organizing the Literature

based Reading Progra m
Reading progra msinspired by a w hole language philosophy considers variety and balance in m aterials
and in m ethods as well as balance in responsibility shared by teachers and studentsStrickland 1992
cited five basic ele m ents of a w hole language reading progra m
assisted activities
1 teacher
2
independent activities
3flexible groupings
4responses to literature and5inform al assessm ent
Also focusing on the need for balance and variety Hiebert and Colt1989specified tw o ele m ents to
be regarded in designing an effective reading progra m 1 the instructional form at or grouping sche m e
i ew hole class sm all group and independent activities and 2 literature selection ieby the

teacher
the teacher and students and students only
The current progra m guided by the w hole language assu m ptions took into account the following
ele m ents
1the environ m ent
2the activities
3the m aterials and4assessm ent m easuresThe
sche m atic diagra m of the conceptual fra m ew ork is presented in the next pageFigure 1

Methodology
This study e m ployed a one
group naturalistic research using quantitative and qualitative techniques to
determine the effects of a short
term im ple m entation of a w hole language
inspired literature
based
reading progra m on fifteen selected mixed
ability level grade
III pupils reading co m prehension and
attitudes
The Cloze test InteractiveReadingWriting
Activity IRWA inspired by Ge m ake 1984
retelling of stories
literature journal writing and writing of original stories were used to determine the
pupils co m prehension Attitudes on the other hand were exa mined through children s na ming of
favorite stories pupilinterviews observations of pupil behaviors McKenna and Kear s1990Inform al
Reading Interest Survey and pupils evaluation of the class activities
The im ple m entation of the literature
based reading progra m went through the following stages
IPlanning and Preparation
A Defining the nature of the regular reading progra m
B Selecting the reading m aterials
1Core Literature
2Extended Literature
C Designing the classroo m
1Literacy centers
2Print displays
D Planning the progra m activities
1Progra m fra m ew ork
2Strategy lessons
IIPretesting
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Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

Figure 1The Sche m atic Diagra m of the ConceptualTheoretical Fra m ew ork

IIITry
Out
A Orientation
B Im m ersion
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CELEA Journal 67

1Teacher
led activities
2Independent activities
IV Posttesting
The progra m had the following features
rich classroo m environ m ent with authentic
1 a print
reading m aterials three literacy centers and an error
tolerant respecting collaborative and child
centered classroo m clim ate
led activities consisting of the teacher s m odeling of appropriate
2teacher
reading strategies and independent activities w here children get individual help as needed and
opportunities to m ake independent decisions in relation to book selection for actual reading
3the use
of high quality literature m ostly fro m authentic sources or children s picture storybooks
4for the w hole
class activities
the use of Philippine folk tales to expose children to their rich cultural heritage
5for
assessing pupils co m prehension
the use of inform al and actual sa m ples of children s w ork
6attitudes
were evaluated based on inform al m easures w hich m ostly required pupils to generate their ow n responses
to class activities
and7teacher s observations of pupils reading
related behaviors w hich contributed to
the inform ation collected regarding their reading attitudes
Pupils co m prehension was exa mined using the data draw n fro m children s perform ance in a cloze test
and their w ork sa m ples fro m four qualitative inform ation sources na m ely children s literature journal
entries
the interactive
readingwriting
activities oralwritten retellings and their original storiesThe
t
test for dependent sa m ple m eans was co m puted to determine the significance of any changes that
occurred in children s preand post
test co m prehension perform ance
An F
test was also co m puted to determine if the differences a m ong the three pre
determined ability
groupsgood average and poorwere significant
The pupils attitudes on the other hand were ascertained through the nu m ber of story titles they
could identifyindicating their use of literature
Qualitative inform ation about pupils attitudes were
draw n fro m the Inform al Reading Interest Survey
the observations m ade by the teacher
researcher
the
interviews with the respondents and the pupils evaluation of the progra m activities

Results and Discussion

Com prehension
Cloze Test
The cloze test was ad ministered to children before and after their im m ersion in the literature
based
reading progra m Results of the preand post
tests showed that pupils im proved m arkedly in their
co m prehension after the progra m
The co m puted t
test at 3
36 p
01 posted a significant gain indicating the positive effect of the
progra m on children s co m prehension develop m ent

Literature
Journal
The children s writings in their literature journals uncovered m uch about their thought processes as
they read or after they read books An analysis of 164 journal entries showed children s ow nership of
their written textsThis was m anifested in a nu m ber of waysFro m the cover page they either drew
the mselves or their interests They also m ade references to the mselves The content of their daily
reflections exposed their beliefs
ideas concepts
aspects of their personality
critical thinking skills and
valuesTheir daily independent decisions on w hat to write about is an evidence of writing ow nership

Retelling
An analysis of 50 written retelling sa m ples likewise showed children s sense of ow nership for their
writingsThey also m anifested an ability to sequence stories and engage in language experim entationA
co m parison of their various writings revealed risk
taking in their use of w ords
spellings and m echanics of
writingChildren engaged in self
corrections and were found to im prove in sentence structure self
expression and spellings in their succeeding writingsSo m e children were also found to be capable of
writing original and highly creative storiesFor instance one student m ade a co m pletely different story
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Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

out of the story w hich was intended to be retold The only fa miliar characteristics evidently patterned
after the intended story were the m ain character and the its descriptionThe rest of the ele m ents were
changedChildren s use of storybook language is apparent in their written retellings
So m e 32 oral retelling sa m ples also supported children s ability to sequence events in stories
appropriately and their use of storybook languageChildren revealed their sense of story and their values
interests e m otions and general develop m ental characteristics in their writingsIt was likewise observed
that children could reconstruct stories

InteractiveReadingWritingActivity
As revealed by the literature journal entries and retelling sa m ples
the 44 interactive
readingwriting
activity sa m ples w hich were exa mined also exhibited children s sense of ow nership for their writingsThis
was show n in their use of invented spellings their experim entation with gra m m ar writing m echanics
and use of w ords Moreover their responses m anifested their personal values concepts beliefs and
aspects of their personality Children were observed to be in control of their writing They freely
expressed their thoughts and feelings and were capable of m aking inferencesTheir creativity and ability
to think critically were also noticeable as they illustrated their thoughts and assessed characters actions
Im prove m ents in their writing fluency were also noted in succeeding writings

Original Stories
Children s original stories also displayed similar characteristics An analysis of 46 sa m ples showed
that children had a sense of ow nership for their writings
as revealed by their references to the mselves as
authors of the stories their independent writing decisions illustrations and experim entations with
language structures
spellings and the use of punctuationsFurtherm ore
the children exhibited a sense of
story and adoption of storybook languageThe stories likewise revealed their personal interests beliefs
aspects of their personality
their creativity in putting together their knowledge
experiences values and
aspects of the mselves in theirIntertextual linking ability to sequence stories m ovies seen classroo m
learnings and general develop m ental characteristics could also be gleaned fro m their original stories
The qualitative sources of children s co m prehension particularly the literature journal writings
retellings interactive
readingwriting
activity responses and original stories all reveal similar
characteristics of children s co m prehension processes They de m onstrate that reading as described by
Hittle m an1988
is a
social process
thinking linguistic cultural

The writings showed that

children think as they readTheir knowledge of language is also de m onstrated as they m ade an effort to
express the mselves Their cultural
social background is m anifested through their beliefs values and
relationshipsThe people w ho m atter to the m are reflected in their writingsIt is believed that the
writing activities all contributed to the enhance m ent of children s thinking their linguistic facility and
personal
social
cultural develop m ent
thus
im proving their co m prehension
After their im m ersion in the literature
based reading progra m a one
way analysis of variance using
the results of the cloze test was co m puted to determine if the children w ho were classified as good
average and poor by their regular English teacher were significantly different fro m one anotherResults
showed that they did not differ m arkedly fro m each other as presu m ed by their teacherThisim plies that
children basically had the sa m e potential in readingThis m eans that they exhibited similar abilities in
terms of their thought processes language and socio
cultural processesSuch is the reason w hy similar
characteristics were uncovered fro m children s writings

Attitudes
Na ming of Favorite Stories
The na ming of favorite stories was given as a preand post
testto evaluate children s attitudes toward
readingChanges in their ability to na m e story titles before and after their exposure to the literature
based reading progra m were exa mined The co m putation of the t
test for dependent sa m ple m eans
revealed that children could na m e m ore stories after their im m ersion in the progra m The significant
increase im plies that children read or encountered m ore books after they were exposed to the progra m
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CELEA Journal 67

Their ability to na m e m ore titles m oreover

is an indicator of their developing interestin reading or their
positive attitude towards reading because the ability to recall story titles signify that stories had an im pact
on the m
thus
they were re m e m bered

Inform al Reading Interest Inventory

Also given as a preand post
test the inform al reading interest inventory showed that after the
progra m m ore children preferred to engage in reading and writing and to visit reading
related places
More children claim ed that they like to read believed that they could read and that they enjoyed
readingFurtherm ore
they also found the library an enjoyable place and textbook reading as funMore
children declared that they w ould read even if the teacher w ould not require the m to This finding
suggests that the m ore opportunities children are given to read they beco m e m ore m otivated to read
Such enthusiasm for reading is generalized to reading
related places and to varied types of reading
m aterials as well
Table 1 shows the results of the inform al reading interest survey before and after children s
im m ersion in the progra m
In part I first ite m none of the subjects identified any preferred reading
related activity before
their im m ersion in the literature
based reading progra m Most children preferred outdoor ga m es
followed by shopping and sports
then tv viewing and studyingAfter their exposure m ost children still
preferred indoor
outdoor ga m es as their first preference followed closely by sports and reading then
writing and singingThe appearance of reading and writing after the progra m im m ersion is w orth noting
albeit minim al
In the second ite m m ost children preferred to have toysA few others identified personal things of
interest like wrist watch rubber shoes roller skates and books as their first preference before their
im m ersion in the progra m After their exposure m ost children still wished to have toys followed by
other personal things like fa mily co m puter wrist watch books bike and ring An interest in books is
already evident before the progra m exposureThe sa m e children however
indicated interest in book
s
as their first preference
Table 1Su m m ary of reading
related pupil responses to theinform alreading interest survey
Items
PARTI
1Preferred activities

2Preferred things

3Preferred places

Pretest

Posttest

N 15

N 12

Reading
2nd preferencen 2
3rd preferencen
1

Reading
1st preferencen 3
2nd preferencen 1
3rd preferencen 4
Writing
1st preferencen 1
2nd preferencen 2

Book
s
1st preferencen 1
2nd preferencen 2
3rd preferencen 2

No reading
related place

1st preferencen 1
2nd preferencen 1

Library
2nd preferencen 2
Bookstore
2nd preferencen 1

Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

Items
4Reading m aterials at ho me

Pretest

Posttest

Books m agazines
spread sheets
n 15

Books m agazines
spread sheets
n 11

5Readers at ho me

Mother
father
sister
brother grandfather
grand m other uncles
cousins aunts
n 15

Mother
father
sister
brother grandfather
grand m other uncles
cousins aunts
n 12

6Library exposure

Yesn 14

Yesn 11

Yesn 8
So m etim esn 2
Not son 5

Yesn 11
So m etim es1

N 10
Yesn 10
Yesn 7
Non 9
Non 7

Yesn 10

N 12
Yesn 11
Yesn 11
Non 11
Non 11

Yesn 11

7Likes reading

Part II
1Can read
2Enjoys reading
3Finds library boring
4Reads in the library only
w hen asked by teacher
5Considers textbook reading
fun

related place of preference

In ite m nu m ber three none of the respondents indicated any reading
before and after the progra m After the progra m though
so m e students na m ed the library and bookstore
as preferred placesMost children identified the m all
followed by the beach Disneyland and the gy m as
their first preference before their im m ersion in the LBP Most of the m still preferred the m all
followed
by the beach then church followed by Disneyland and the departm ent store after going through the
progra m
In the fourth ite m all respondents claim ed to be exposed to reading m aterials before and after their
exposure to the LBPSimilarly all subjects indicated their exposure to reading m odels at ho m e in the
fifth ite m The sa m e holds true for the sixth ite m w hen all respondentsindicated that m ost
if not all
of
the m were exposed to the library before and after the progra m In the last ite m of Part I after the
children s exposure to the LBP
the respondents w ho declared that they liked reading outnu m bered those
w ho indicated this before the progra m
In the second part of the survey all except one of the children responded positively to the reading
related state m ents after their exposure to the progra m as show n in Table 1

Interviews
The post
try
outinterviews or conferences with the respondents provided m ore inform ation regarding
the m otivational factors that contributed to their positive attitudes toward readingIt was revealed that
the children preferred the activities in the literature
based reading progra m over the regular activities in
their Language Arts class because the form er were m ore fun
interesting and fa miliarIn addition
they
could focus m ore on reading because there were m any available m aterials to read The pupils further
contended that they found learning easier in the literature
based class than in their regular Language Arts
ClassThey learned m ore w ords thus they developed richer vocabulary The opportunities given to
the m to self
select m aterials to read or to choose the activities to engage in during the independent period
was also considered crucial to their enhanced interest in reading were the m any varied activities and the
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CELEA Journal 67

tim e given to the m to w ork independently The quiet relaxed and ho m elike atm osphere of the
classroo m environ m ent pro m oted im proved learningThe conferences further revealed that children liked
the independent activities because they served as a venue for exercising their personal choices The
diverse choices offered to the m catered to their m any varied interestsIt was dee m ed fun to w ork alone
or with others and to w ork independently and m eaningfullyTable 2 su m m arizes children s reasons for
preferring the activities in the literature
based reading progra m over their activities in the regular
Language Arts class
Table 2Su m m ary of reasons for preferring the activites in the reading classliterature
based reading
progra m over activities in the English classregular language progra m
1activities are fun enjoyable
2stories are interesting fa miliar
3they can focus on reading
4there are m any books and writing m aterials
5ease in learning and understanding
6rich vocabulary learned
7freedo m to choose books and activities they are interested in
8m any varied activities
areading alone or with friends
bwriting and drawing stories
csharing stories read or personally written stories
dresponding to stories in their Literature Journal
elistening to the teacher s reading
aloud and storytelling
freading to their classm ates
ganswering activities
9tim e to do things independently
10relaxed quiet and highly conducive classroo m environ m ent

N 15total nu m ber of respondents

n 15nu m ber of respondents w ho provided responses

Classroo m Activities Evaluation

All of the children expressed liking for the literature
based reading progra m Reading Class
activitiesbecause of the following reasons the m any varied activities the ease in w hich lessons are
learned and vocabulary m eanings are understood Moreover the m any opportunities to do varied
activities the conducive classroo m environ m ent and the m any opportunities to m ake independent
decisions likewise contributed to their interest in the progra m
Table 3Su m m ary of reasons w hy children generally like the reading class
1m any varied activities
areading related stories
bwriting and drawing stories
cretelling stories to their classm ates
dlistening to stories of the teacher and their peers
esharing their original stories to others
fdiscussing stories with the teacher and answering her questions
greading their classm ates original stories
hwriting in their Literature Journal
ireading alone or with others
2ease in learning and understanding of lessons and the m eanings of w ords
3enjoy m ent in doing diverse activities

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Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

4conducive classroo m environ m ent

aho m elike
bquiet
cclean
d m any storybooks
efunction areas
forderly
5opportunities to m ake independent decisions

The pupils were asked to evaluate the Reading Class activities after the progra m All children w ho
evaluated the progra m indicated that they liked writing original stories and to listen to the teacher s
storytelling Majority also like the read
aloud activities w hich they did a m ong the mselves
including the
teacher s reading
aloud and discussion of storiesThird in the list of well
liked activities are the retelling
and sharing of originalstoriesThisis followed by writing about stories read in their literature journal and
the Book Talks The fifth is answering
co m pleting given stories or the Independent
ReadingWriting
ActivityIRWA
Then the sixth is reading a book with others followed by reading a story fro m a story
sheetLastly
the individual independent reading is enjoyed by alm ost half of all the respondents w ho
assessed the activities they liked in the progra m Table 4 su m m arizes children s reasons for liking the
literature
based reading progra m activities
Table 4Su m m ary of children s reading class activities evaluation
Class activity
1writing original stories

Ilike it

Ido not like it

n 13
fun pleasurable
can m ake m e think of m any beautiful
adventures
enjoy reading our original stories
good practice for future authors
Ilike drawing
Ilike reading it daily
It can be shared with others
It can be done daily

2Teacher
led storytelling

n 13
enjoyable
beautiful stories
like Mo m telling m e stories at bedtim e
source of learning
develops listening skills
co mfortable set
up
not boring
source of m any new vocabulary
provides m odeling for storytelling

3Reading
aloud to
classm ates

n 1

n 12
fun enjoyable
im proves ability to tell stories
beautiful stories
adds to our knowledge of stories
source of new w ords to learn
12

tiring
inattentive classm ates

CELEA Journal 67

Class activity

Ilike it

4Teacher
led reading
aloud and discussion

Ido not like it

n 1

n 12
stories are better understood
m any things are learned
questions are answered m ore accurately

Ifeel sleepy

5Reading a story in class n 11

n21
enjoyable and fun
boring
with the teacher or
others
attentive classm ates
thick books require
opportunity to share stories we know
longer retelling
m akes m e happy especially w hen others
listen and appreciate m y retelling
6Sharing original stories n 11
with our classm ates
delightful especially w hen
appreciated by others
fun to m ake stories
can be retold by heart
source of learning

n 2
read

and

shyness
inattentive classm ates

7 Writing about a story n 10

n 3
enjoy writing
read in the literature
tiring
im proves understanding
journal
boring
can draw picturesin it and read it at ho m e
prevents the m fro m
m akes one look back at the story read
reading m any books
source of learning
independence in deciding w hat to write
about
the journal can be read instead of the
book
8Book Talks

n 10

n 3

enjoyable fun
source of learning
awareness of stories others have read
a m eans of sharing stories

boring
partner laughs
preference for
individual independent
reading

9 Answering or co m pleting n 9
n 4
enjoy writing
given stories
boring
m akes one think well
tiring
develops writing answering skills
hard to understand
im proves vocabulary
develops understanding of stories and
ability to retell stories
10Reading a book
others

with n 8
n 5
fun enjoyable
difficulty in learning
develops better understanding of the story
because of
distractionspeers
laughing noise
others are a nuisance

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Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

Class activity

Ilike it

Ido not like it

11Reading a story fro m a n 7

storysheetphotocopied
source of learning
reading m aterial for
enjoyable fun
DRTA
pleasure in rewriting stories
stories serve as m odels for story m aking

n 6

12Individual Independent n 6
Reading
can understand story better
cannot be disturbed
can retell story to others

n 7

boring
lengthy
too fine print

don t like to read

alone
like to read with
others
not enjoyable

Table 5 su m m arizes pupils overall rating of the Reading Class Activities as a w hole
Table 5Children s overall evaluation of the reading class
Questions

Rating

Noof respondents

1 How do you feel w hen it is time for the Reading

Class

VH
H

14
1

2 How do you feel about the stories in the Reading

Class

VH
H

13
2

N 15Scale VH Very HappyH HappyNH Not Happy VU Very Unhappy

Observations
The teacher s observations revealed salient behaviors of the respondents w hich present evidences of
their attitudes towards reading after the progra m Table 6 su m m arizes the literacy
related behaviors
characteristics of the children during and after their im m ersion in the literature
based reading progra m
Table 6Su m m ary of observed behaviors of pupils reflecting attitude
s to reading
1browsing
looking at and reading books at the Reader s Haven voluntarily before and after the
class period
2co ming to class early to read write stories or just get ready for the session
3asking about upco ming activities and stories to be read
aloud
4staying beyond the class tim e to read m ore books their classm ate s original stories
their ow n
literature journals help clean up arrange books and assist the teacher in preparing the
classroo m for the next day
5enthusiasm during the class activities active participation in class discussions
6ability to find similarities a m ong characters of various stories and to connect stories to
experience
7lively sharing of stories read or seen
8reading posters blackboard re minders and announce m ents independently
9ability to w ork independently if not with minim al teacher help
10borrowing of the dictionary
11intense concentration in reading during the independent period
12rereading of favorite books books of interest
13borrowing books used for reading
aloud by the teacher and those that were used for storytelling
14eagerness to retell stories read heard or seen
15preparedness in storytelling
16voluntary sharing of original stories
14

CELEA Journal 67

17bringing personal to share with the class

18enjoy m ent in story
writing m aking illustrations of story characters fro m read
aloud stories and
their original creations
19desire to beco m e future authors
20application of w ords learned in their ow n writing and during the discussions
21high ratings of books read
22eagerness to have another Reading Class of the sa m e nature
23co ming to class despite the nation wide transport strike
24discussing stories and activities taken up in class to friends and fa mily m e m bers talking about
the class with pride and enjoy m ent
25other children fro m various grade levels visiting the classroo m out of curiosity due to the
participants positive co m m ents about the class
26children role playing certain story events or characters using story characters in their ga m es
and play activities
27children s positive co m m ents about the Reading Class
28drawing certain story events or characters in the blackboard after the class
29evident sadness of the children at the close of the Reading Class
30recall of seventy
three percent of the total nu m ber of stories read
aloud in a guessing ga m e
during the closing activity of the Reading Class

Conclusion
In conclusion the w hole language
inspired literature
based reading progra m enhanced both
children s co m prehension and attitudes toward readingSeveral factors were believed to be crucial in
pro m oting their co m prehension develop m ent
1their personalinvolve m entin their ow n learning w hich
m ade the pupils active learners
2the use of reading and writing in authentic contexts w hich m ade the
children see reading and writing as functional activities
3 their e m powerm ent as readers in a learner
centered classroo m culture w hich m ade the m realize their critical role in their ow n develop m ent as
learners
4 the m eaningm aking view of reading w hich developed in pupils an awareness of their
significant contribution in the reading process
5 the de m onstrations of various strategies in reading
w hich helped the m acquire strategies needed to beco m e proficient readers and finally
6the regular
reading activities w hich gave children opportunities to engage in actualinteractions and transactions with
texts
Pupils attitudes were considered to have im proved m arkedly because of the following factors
1
the positive classroo m clim ate w hich enhanced their learning
2 the diverse reading activities w hich
stim ulated the m
3the presence of the three literacy centers w hich supported their literacy learning
aloud of stories w hich encouraged the m to read well and m ore and 5 the daily
4the daily reading
reading
self
selection of books to read and the quality of literature used in the progra m w hich bolstered
and kindled their interest in reading

Reco m mendations
The investigation provided diverse reco m m endations for the im prove m ent of instruction assessm ent
and curriculu m develop m entIts results also offer m any possibilities for research that are related to
literacy

Curriculu m and Instruction

The study cited a nu m ber of ways in w hich im prove m ent in instruction could be realized
first
it
stressed that teachers m ust be clear about their theoretical assu m ptions about reading as this will guide
the m in organizing their reading progra m To be m ore effective beliefs m ust be supported by current
research findings on reading instruction Establishing congruence a m ong theory research and practice
requires that teachers m ake a co m mitm ent to continued learning or professional develop m ent
To m ake the curriculu m m ore relevant
itis also im portant that teachers provide opportunities for
15

Enhancing Puplis Reading Co m prehension and Attitudes through a Whole

Melissa Alma ROrencia

children to express their needs and interests in class so they could be addressed in planning and
im ple m enting the curriculu m
As seen in the results of the study co m prehension and attitudes im proved because of significant
factors like the use of reading and writing in functional situations the opportunities for children to
actualize their potentials and their im m ersion in interesting and enjoyable literacy activities These
should be considered in planning and im ple m enting reading progra ms
The m eaningfulness and usefulness of the activities in the literature
based reading progra m could
be enhanced further by relating it to other curriculu m areas and thus encourage children to read as a
habit
For teachers w ho are faced with proble ms pertaining to children s feelings of inferiority in
relation to literacy
the huge class size scarcity of reading m aterials the instructional leaders lack of
support and their ow n professionalinadequacies
this research offers the following respective suggestions
w hich are inherent in the progra m
first
teachers m ust strive to pro m ote a positive classroo m clim ate to
reduce if not eliminate children s socio
psychological proble ms in the classroo m particularly their feelings
of inferiority
second
teachers need to suggest the reduction of huge class size to a m ore m anageable one
to be able to respond to students needs m ore effectively
if such is not possible specially in the public
school setting teachers can m ake use of grouping strategies and tap the m ore intellectually enhanced
students to assist
third
the lack of reading m aterials to use in class can be re m edied if the teacher will
start her ow n collection of books in the classroo m rather than wait for the school to provide the needed
m aterials
the teacher can solicit book donations
invest in a mini library in the classroo m or m ake the
reading m aterials herself and with the help of students the mselves fourth the support teachers expect
fro m their instructional leaders can m ost likely be gained if the teachers can effectively share the
significance of their classroo m innovations One s credibility can be achieved by having a strong
knowledge base brought about by a co m mitm ent to professional develop m entThis is also perceived to be
the answer to the teacher s feelings of professional inadequacy The teacher s e m powerm ent can be
realized only if they the mselves w ould m ake a co m mitm ent to professional develop m ent and engage in a
constant reflection of the effectiveness of their instructional practices
Considering the aliteracy proble m a m ong the pupils in our schools today teachers can pro m ote
the reading habit by letting children get exposed to good quality reading m aterials and allow the m to
practice reading Such can counter television video and co m puter ga m es and other less than ideal
preoccupations of young people

Assessment
This research has seen the usefulness of having a nu m ber of assessm ent m easures to determine
co m prehension and attitudes to readingIt therefore reco m m ends that w hen m easuring the extent and
quality of co m prehension and attitudes of pupils teachers m ust not sim ply rely on testing to get
inform ation about students literacy develop m ent Rather a richer and m ore m eaningful inform ation
about pupils growth in literacy can be had by using not only product
oriented sources but also process
oriented
in
depth
stim ulating and authentic m easures such as the ones that were used in this research

Researches
This research being exploratory in nature can still undergo m any im prove m entsIn particular
m ore in
depth conferences with respondents could be conducted to support data derived fro m their
responses to the engage m ent activitiesSuch could provide a richer picture of students co m prehension
and attitudes to reading
Moreover
a nu m ber ofjudges other than the researcher could be e m ployed to gather a m ore valid
evaluation of pupils co m prehension and attitudes to reading A m ore co m prehensive and organized
inform ation about pupils could be obtained by using docu m entation Chittenden Courtney 1989 or
portfolioSarracino et al1994
A holistic portrait of pupils abilities can be draw n fro m both form al
and inform al sourcesParis et al
1992offer a fra m ew ork for authentic literacy assessm ent that m ay
prove to be useful for future researchers w ho wish to generate qualitative data fro m children s w ork
16

CELEA Journal 67

sa m ples to im prove assessm ent of children s literacy develop m ent and gain a richer data about children s
literacy growthTo serve as a guide the IRA NCTE 1994 created standards for the assessm ent of
reading and writing w hich researches in the area of literacy m ay find usefulSuch criteria can further
im prove the validity of findings about children s literacy develop m ent
Valencia Hiebert and Afflerbach 1994explored various ways in w hich authentic assessm ent
was e m ployed in different schoolsTheir researches could also serve as a useful reference for those w ho
are atte m pting to im prove the way in w hich pupils literacy develop m ent is being evaluated
In assessing children s literacy perform ance feedback is necessary so pupils can direct their ow n
learning One of the limitations of this research is its failure to provide regular feedback to the
respondents regarding their perform ance in class i
ew hat they are good at w hat their weaknesses are
and how they could im prove the mselves Feedback regarding children s perform ance should thus be
provided so children can m onitor their ow n literacy develop m ent
In response to pupils weaknessesin relation to their writing activities
eg gra m m ar
vocabulary
and m echanics of writing w hich were evidentin their w ork sa m ples
the teacher can provide w hole group
instruction to address the pupils need
sThis can already be part of curriculu m planning in addition to
data that m ay be draw n fro m pupils stated needs and interestsIntegrating these in children s classroo m
experiences can m ake the curriculu m m ore relevant unlike w hen activities are only based fro m the
teacher s perception of w hat pupils need
Another limitation of this research is the failure to m onitor closely each pupil as he
she is engaged
in the various activities during the independent periodThis is believed to be im portant to determine if
pupils were able to follow instructions right and if not be able to guide the m accordingly Hence
m onitoring and feedback m ust be done to address learners needs

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