“MOTOReading: A NEW NORMAL READING INTERVENTION

PROGRAM IN ENHANCING XYZ’s READING SKILLS”

An Action Research Proposal Presented to the

Schools Division Research Committee

JOAN V. EGONIA
Teacher 1

January 2021
 INRODUCTION

CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

It was February 10, 2020 when I first met XYZ. I was their English teacher in

the fourth quarter only due to the changes of subject loads and revision of class

program. I noticed that every time I asked him during our discussion, he simply

looked at me without saying anything. I secretly asked him why he did not join the

group discussion and why he did not take the short quiz. Again, he just stared at me

and did not utter any word to answer my queries. I interviewed his classmates why

he behaved like that and they answered me that “ingon ana jud na siya, Ma’am kay

absenot bitaw!” (He is really like that, Ma’am because he keeps on being absent)!

“Karun lang pud na siya nisulod ug balik kay fourth grading na bitaw, ” (He is now

present in class because it is already fourth grading). As his new subject teacher, I

decided to help him become participative in my class.

On the following week, the school conducted the Post – test of Philippine

Informal Reading Inventory (Phil – IRI). I called some of my students and one of

them was XYZ. Unfortunately, he was hesitant to read and the worse was he left the

room without asking permission.

“Ma’am, dili bitaw na siya kabalo mo basa.”

(Ma’am, he does not know how to read), shared his classmates.

“Gipabasa siya sa una sa inyong teacher katong sa Pre – test sa Phil –

IRI?”

(Did your teacher ask him to read during the Pre – test of Phil – IRI?), I

asked his classmates with all curiosity.

 “Yes, Ma’am pero sige siya ug absent, Ma’am basta magpabasa na

among teacher.”

(Yes, Ma’am but he is always absent, Ma’am every time our teacher

conduct reading session), replied by the other student.

After listening to all their shared information about XYZ, I felt motivated to

assist him overcome his fear in reading so that he would become ready to the next

grade level. Students develop literacy at different paces (McGill – Franzen, Payne, &

Dennis, 2020). However, I believe that XYZ is already left behind considering his age

and grade level. Thus, I sent a Reading Call Slip (RCS) to get his attention. Luckily,

he responded to my call so I finally got the perfect time for us to have a one – on –

one reading assessment consultation. After taking the reading assessment using the

Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil – IRI) passage, I found out that he could

not read even single word and he kept on murmuring the words. This means that I

need to check first if he could recognize the letter names and sounds. This time, I

utilized letter tiles and let him identify the name and sound of the letters. It is a sad

reality that he cannot name and produce the sound of all the alphabets. He only

knew the letters “A”, “B”, “N”, and “T”. Reading is an active process which enables

one to make sense of print (Farrel, 2009). That is why I wonder how he reached

Grade 7 without learning one of the basic macro skills which is reading so I

interviewed him like he is my own son.

“Asa ka nagpuyo? Nganong maglisod pa ka ug basa?”

(Where do you live? Why you still have difficulty in reading), I asked

him.
 “Taga – Sitio Mainit ko, Ma’am. Dili bitaw ko kabalo mo basa kay sige

ra ko ug absent sa una elementary pa ko. Gipapasar bitaw gihapon

ko sa akong teachers maski wala koy nakat – unan.”

(I live in Sitio Mainit, Ma’am. I do not know how to read because I am

always absent when I was in elementary. My teachers promoted me to

high school even if I do not learn anything), replied by XYZ.

“Karun makapasar kaya gihapon ka?”

(Now, do you think you will still pass?), I tried to converse him through

reverse Psychology.

The student did not answer my last question so I encouraged him to join the

reading interventions since I am also the reading coordinator in our school. But, he

did not respond to the call slips I sent to him. He kept on being absent and even

single reading intervention he did not attend until the school year ended. When

School Form 5 (SF5) was submitted to the Registrar’s office, I was shocked when I

checked the name of XYZ. Although I submitted a list of the SEEDS (non – readers)

for school year 2019 – 2020, still he was promoted to Grade 8 and I could not

change it even if he is a non – reader because it was already final.

I sought answers to my questions on how I can help XYZ become a reader. I

learned that children are not natural born readers. In fact, reading is not a naturally

occurring skill at all, but rather a complex process that requires a careful and

systematic instructional approach. From several decades of research, it tells us that

to become skilled and confident readers over time, young children need lots of

opportunities to build spoken language by talking and listening, learning about print

and books, learning about the sounds of spoken language or phonological

awareness,
learning about the letters of the alphabet, and listening to books by reading aloud

(Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2006). Moreover, parents must read to their children

at an early age. It is difficult to achieve if parents are not independent readers. In

the case of XYZ, his parents are also beginner readers and as a result he has not

given enough opportunities to build spoken language. It is merely evident because I

can see that he is very timid when someone ask him about anything. In addition,

indigenous people are often the poorest of the poor and increasingly at great risk of

losing quality education (Ligaray, 2018). This is one of the causes why student XYZ

did not attend his class for they do not have enough money to suffice the demands

of school project, assignments, and the likes.

According to Perfetti (2007), readers are able to determine the meaning of

words due to the complex rules of semantics (meaning), phonology (sound),

orthography (spelling), morphology (word build) and syntax (sentence build). All of

these factors contribute to word meaning comprehension. With this, learner XYZ has

not mastered all these factors because he could not read even one word.

Reading is dependent upon a number of factors including a child’s world

knowledge, vocabulary and memory skills. Of all the skills children must acquire in

their lives, reading is the most critical one for future success in school as well as

throughout life (Healy, 2002). This has become a dilemma in all schools nationwide

that until now students have difficulty learning to read due to their own different

personal issues and problems inside and outside the school premises. It is absolutely

evident that even high school particularly in Jose Abad Santos National High School,

there are students who are still beginner readers or we commonly call them as “Non

– readers.” This is the main reason why our school keeps on crafting and

implementing
effective reading program with effective reading intervention strategies because

reading is on top of our priority especially in eradicating non – readers enrolled in

our school and one of them is learner XYZ.

Unfortunately, the Philippine educational system was put in jeopardy when

COVID – 19 has become a global health crisis. Despite the pandemic, the Philippine’s

Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones stated, “Education must

continue even in times of crisis whether it may be a calamity, disaster, emergency,

quarantine, or even war” (Department of Education, 2020). As of 7 May 2020, the

total number of COVID-19 cases reported in the Philippines by the Department of

Health (DOH) was 10,343 with 685 deaths and 1,680 recovered (Simbulan, 2020).

For this reason, traditional face to face classes learning modality is changed to

blended distance learning since students or minors are not allowed to go out as

stipulated in the Department of Health and Inter – Agency Task Force health

protocols.

The Department of Education provides available soft copies of the Self –

Learning Modules (SLMs) and teachers continuously print, sort, and staple it. SLMs

are distributed to the parents in order for their children to read, analyze, and answer

it at home. As a result, the same dilemma arises in the implementation of this kind

of learning modality and that entails poor reading comprehension or the worse is

both parents and students could not read the SLMs. In this case, the increasing

number of unclaimed modules in our school has reached to 12% of our school

population. This becomes alarming to the part of the teachers for we are expected

to provide quality education among all our students.

In the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), among

79 participating countries and economies, the Philippines scored the lowest in

reading
comprehension. Reading was the main subject assessed among 15-year old

students in the 2018 PISA. The Philippines had an average reading score of 340,

more than 200 points below China (555) and more than 100 points less than the

OECD average

(487). According to the PISA 2018 profile of the Philippines, socio-economic status

accounts for 18% of the variance in reading performance in the country, compared to

the OECD. This means that reading is one of the major problems that all schools

nationwide must address to assist the students become ready in the advancement of

the world particularly with the use of technology where instructions and other

information are already provided through ICT integration.

As what Tomie Depaola once said, “Reading is important because if you read,

you can learn anything about everything and everything about anything.” That is why

reading teachers should decide which words to teach, and this choice should be

based on the particular knowledge of the students, their backgrounds, interests and

experiences.

Learning to read is the key to academic success for all students. However, it

is one of the most difficult skills to teach and learn and the pressure is now in the

hands of both teachers and learners. If only the students are better readers, they

would also be better thinkers so that they could comprehend to the different printed

materials they could see and read. It is in this study that I could find ways to start

the reading success of learner XYZ from the IP community.

ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS

This study will be conducted to develop an effective reading intervention

program to enhance the reading skills of JASNHS Learner XYZ. Specifically, this will

seek answers to the questions:

 1. How can I enhance the reading skills of JASNHS learner XYZ using the

MOTOReading intervention program?

2. How can MOTOReading intervention program help JASNHS learner XYZ

improve his reading level?

PROPOSED INNOVATION/ INTERVENTION/ STRATEGY

MOTOReading Intervention Program

The MOTOReading intervention program is a new normal reading intervention

program which is anchored to Paulo Freire’s critical theory and his proposed critical

pedagogy of the horizontal type of relationship of the teacher to student and vice

versa. This means that both teacher and student are willing and open to learn from

each other. Freire believed that each student should play an active role in their own

learning and not to become passive recipient of learning.

This intervention strategy is equivalent to Freire’s “Cultural Circles,” the term

he used on his literacy classes. It is a community – based learning and dialogue is

highlighted in the program. Teaching as banking is discouraged in the

implementation of the said program since I as a coordinator of literacy is also

learning from the participant that I am focusing.

This aims to aid the reading difficulties and help the SEEDS (Non – readers) in

our school like student XYZ in learning how to read using the five interactive,

manipulative and enjoyable reading activities in this time of new normal education.

It starts with simple recognition of the letter name and sound and ends with simple

reading comprehension questions. This is designed to make the learning process

more meaningful and easier for the beginner readers in high school. Just like what

Freire
did in his literacy program, this intervention will also be done in the indigenous

people community in order for me to learn their indigenous traditions, beliefs, and

culture which can be used in making effective short reading passages that are

relevant in this reading intervention. It is also the best solution to teach XYZ how to

read in this time of pandemic since minors are strictly prohibited to go anywhere.

The school reading coordinator/ researcher will bring literacy and numeracy in the IP

community. Thus, XYZ can utilize the MOTOReading Learning Package dependently

or independently depending on the level of mastered reading skill. Parents are also

encouraged to join in the intervention because reading difficulties run in families

(Cutting, 2017). They only have to follow the five reading activities which are as

follows:

Making Sound, Naming the Letter (Level M)

Children who do not have time and opportunity to talk and who are not

encouraged to talk often have problems learning to read. In this level, the beginner

will familiarize the name and sound of the letters through the help of the

coordinator, the term to be used to the person who will teach reading to the

beginner reader. Letter tiles and AlphaBlocks are highly needed in the activity.

Oh! You BLEND it (Level O1)

Children who have mastered the letter sounds begin to understand that

spoken words are made up of separate and small sounds. If letters sounds are put

together (blending), this will produce a word. Words have parts called syllables. In

this level, the learner will blend some of the letters to form words like Consonant

– Vowel –
Consonant (CVC) words. Mastery of letter name and sound is highly needed in the

second level of this reading intervention.

To 4give is to 4get (Level T)

Learner learns to say words after blending the letters. This time, he shall give

four (4) words which can be seen, heard, touched, smelled, and tasted within the

community. These four words must be in native translation and he must identify the

beginning sound of each word. Then, he will translate it into Filipino and English

afterwards. In case he cannot translate the mentioned words into Filipino or English

terms, he must draw it so that the coordinator could help him identify and translate

the exact words of the given native words. Thus, it will help the learner enrich his

vocabulary words using his very own native dialects with Filipino and English

translations and this will also help the coordinator learn one of the native dialects

here in Jose Abad Santos. After the translation process, the learner will get four (4)

letters to be used in the oral recitation and these letters must be the basis in giving

another set of four words in addition to his vocabulary. Then, the process will repeat

and repeat until he can read the words that he had mentioned. The coordinator

must list down all the words mentioned by the learner.

Order please (Level O2)

Some words rhyme and some does not. In this level, the learner must master

the letters that comprise a word for he must learn how to spell the words correctly

based on his acquired vocabularies in the previous reading level. He must

understand that words are essential in the construction of simple sentences since

these are made

of separate words. That is why he must know how to put the letters in order to form

a word and think how the words must be put in order to express complete though.

So learner, order please the letters and words in this activity.

Reading Aloud with Repetition and Comprehension (Level R)

Reading aloud to children has been called the single most important activity

for building the knowledge required for success in reading. In this way, children

learn new words, learn more about the world, learn about the written language, and

see the connection between words that are spoken and words that are written. In

this level, the learner will read the contextualized or localized researcher – made

reading passages. This is based from the vocabularies listed and familiarized by the

learner. Then, there will be simple questions to be asked and he will answer it based

on his own understanding. This will be the time that he must read aloud with

repetition and comprehension.

INTERVENTION PROGRAM TIMELINE

ACTIVITIES/
TIME FRAME PERSONS INVOLVED
STRATEGIES
Asking permission to the
school head to conduct a January 06, 2021 Proponent
study
Asking permission to the
parents of leaner XYZ to
January 08, 2021 Proponent
make their child as
respondent of the study
Gather related review of
literature to be used in January 2021 Proponent
the study
Draft action research
proposal to be submitted
Second to third week of
to School Research Proponent
January 2021
Committee and Division
Research Committee
Create a schedule for the
Last week of January
8 – week MOTOReading Proponent
2021
intervention program
Provide and craft
MOTOReading
instructional materials to January 2021 Proponent
be used in the
intervention sessions
Second week of February
Implement the
2021 (February 8) – Last
MOTOReading Program Proponent
week of March 2021
(March 2)
Monitor the reading
Every after the reading
progress of Learner XYZ Proponent
session

Assess the
Every week from
implementation of the Proponent
February to March 2021
program
Evaluate the
implementation of the First and Second weeks
Proponent
program of April 2021
 IMPLEMENTATION TASKS

PERSONS INVOLVED IMPLEMENTATION TASKS

Reading Coordinator One who leads the planning,
implementation and assessment of
the program
One who coordinates with the
parents of learner XYZ with regards
to the reading progress of their child
every week after the reading
intervention session
One who creates the MOTOReading
instructional materials to be used in
the intervention program
One who makes the schedule of the
MOTOReading intervention program
Learner XYZ One who will be assisted by the
reading coordinator in order to
enhance his reading skills
Parents of XYZ One who are coordinated and
interviewed with regards to the
behavior of learner XYZ before,
during, and after the MOTOReading
intervention program
 Chapter II

ACTION RESEARCH METHODS

A. PARTICIPANT/S AND OTHER SOURCES OF DATA AND INFORMATION

The participant of this research study is learner XYZ of Jose Abad Santos

National High School. He is a Grade 8 student but still he belongs to SEED (Non –

reader) in our reading tracker when he is still in Grade 7. He passed his previous

grade level due to some group performances conducted by his teachers. He lives in

Sitio Mainit, Barangay Caburan Big, Jose Abad Santos, Davao Occidental. I name him

as XYZ because this means that he has X score in reading, Y (wa’y) nahibal – an sa

pagbasa and Zero knowledge in reading particularly in naming and sounding the

letters. His previous reading intervention records as well as his personal data are

utilized in this study.

B. DATA GATHERING/ METHODS

The researcher will send a letter to the school head of Jose Abad Santos

National High School requesting for permission to conduct a study on MOTOReading:

A Way to Start the Reading Success of XYZ in this time of pandemic. The letter must

be signed by the School Research Coordinator and the school head. Then, the

researcher will draft its research proposal and submit it to the division office for

evaluation by the Research Committee. Also, the researcher will ask permission from

the parents of XYZ to be the respondent of the study and assist him in his difficulties

in learning how to read. This will be done through sending an approval letter and to

be signed by the parents and the learner himself. Furthermore, the researcher will

conduct an interview both to the parents and learner to seek answers why until this
age he could not identify the letter names and sound and what hinders him to

undergo reading intervention sessions during his previous grade level.

The administration of the Five – level MOTOReading intervention activities or

strategies will be done after the researcher obtained permission to conduct the study

from principal of the school and after the research proposal has been approved by

the research committee. Upon approval, the researcher will personally conduct the

MOTOReading intervention program to learner XYZ in the IP community for eight (8)

weeks.

The researcher will prepare Individual Reading Progress Tool (IRPT) which

will show the improvement of the learner after the eight – week reading intervention

program. Lastly, the researcher will conduct post reading assessment using the

contextualized or localized researcher – made passages based from the culture,

tradition, and beliefs in the Indigenous People community of learner XYZ.

C. DATA ANALYSIS PLAN

The researcher will use the data based from the previous Individual Reading

Record Tool kept in the Reading Center. Also, the interview will serve as the basis of

background checking on how to deal with learner XYZ especially that the

MOTOReading intervention program will happen in his community. The recent

Individual Reading Progress Tool (IRPT) will show the improvement of learner XYZ

after the full implementation of the 8 – week MOTOReading intervention program

using the five – leveled manipulative and interactive activities. That data will be

discussed and reflected after analyzing the recorder reading progress by the reading

coordinator.
 ANNEXES

APPENDIX A

WORKPLAN AND TIMELINESS

Months
Research Activities
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Asking permission to the school /
head to conduct a study

Asking permission to the parents of

leaner XYZ to make their child as /
respondent of the study
Gather related review of literature /
to be used in the study
Draft action research proposal to be
submitted to School Research /
Committee and Division Research
Committee
Create a schedule for the 8 – week /
MOTOReading intervention program
Provide and craft MOTOReading
instructional materials to be used in /
the intervention sessions
Implement the MOTOReading / /
Program
Monitor the reading progress of
/ /
Learner XYZ

Assess the implementation of the / /

program

Evaluate the implementation of the /

program
APPENDIX B
WORKPLAN
PHYSICAL BUDGETARY REQUIREMENT
ACTIVITIES TARGET Expenditure Estimated Source of PERSONS INVOLVED
Items cost Funds
Preparation of Research Proposal Bond papers &
1 Researcher
(Chapters 1 and 2) Folders
Personal/
Preparation of Research Instruments
Bond papers & Basic
and Instructional Materials to be 1 Researcher
Inks 5,000. 00 Education
used in the implementation
Research
Seeking Permission/Asking Consent Researcher/Division/DPIC
Purposive Travelling Fund
from the Participant and Parents /School Heads/ Parents of
sampling allowance
Respondent/ Respondent
Data Collection (Interview, Travelling Personal/
Purposive
MOTOReading Intervention Program Allowance/ Basic Researcher
sampling
sessions conducted ) Food 8,0000. 00 Education
Analysis/Interpretation/Formulating Travelling Research
1 Researcher
Conclusions and Recommendations allowances Fund
Reporting of Data (Presentation) Researcher
Travelling
/SDS/
10 allowances/ Basic
District Supervisors/
(Proposed) Food and Education
10,000.00 School Heads/
Snacks Research
Teachers/HEIs
Funds
Final Manuscript Bond papers &
1 Researcher
Hard bounding

Basic
Education
TOTAL 23,000.00
Research
Funds
APPENDIX C
COST ESTIMATES
PHYSICAL PLAN FINANCIAL COST

Months Budget Cost Tranche

Research Process
J F M A M J J A S O N D

Preparation of Research /
Proposal (Chapters 1 and
2)
Preparation of Research / P5,000.00 1st Tranche
Instruments
Sampling/Asking Consent /
from the Participants
Data Collection ( Interview
and Implementation of / /
MOTOReading intervention
sessions) P8,000.00 2nd Tranche

Data Analysis/ /
Interpretation

Reporting of Data /
(Presentation)
P10,000.00 3rd Tranche
Final Manuscript /
PLANS FOR DISSEMINATION AND ADVOCACY

Results of this study shall be discussed thoroughly with the participant and
other significant stakeholders in a forum. Likewise, advocacy campaign activities
shall be conducted in order to raise awareness and eventually establish relevant
trainings, seminars and even workshops in each school or district of Davao
Occidental.
Specific activities, time frame, persons involved, and success indicators are
presented below.

ACTIVITIES TIME FRAME PERSONS SUCCESS

INVOLVED INDICATOR

Secure permission Permission has

4th week of April
from District and PSDS, SDS, SGOD been secured and
2021
Division Offices granted.

Conduct
information
Target clienteles
dissemination on
have been able to
findings of the 3rd week of May School heads,
attend and
study to the 2021 teachers, parents
participate in the
participant and
activity.
other significant
stakeholders.
REFERENCES

Armbruster,B. , Lehr,F., Osborn,J. (2006) A Child Becomes a Reader Proven Ideas

from Research for Parents. National Institute for Literacy: RMC Research
Corporation Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Retrieved January 6, 2021 from
reading_pre.pdf

Atordido, C. (2012) Improving Struggling Readers’ Reading Attitude and

Comprehension using LINKS (An Integrated Literature – Skills Instructional
Framework); Alipato, pp. 25 – 26; Retrieved from January 6, 2021 from 5786
– 16273 – 1 – PB.pdf

Cutting, L. (2017) What are the Factors that Contribute to Reading Failure?;
Retrieved dated January 6, 2021 from https://www.hmhco.com/blog/what-
are-the- factors-that-contribute-to-reading-failure

Healy, C. (2002) Reading: What the Experts Say the Lowdown on the National Panel

Ligaray, B. (2018) Nutritional Status and Reading Ability of IP Students in Patel

Elementary School, Kapalong East District Davao del Norte; International
Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 7, Issue 8; ISSN
2278- 7763

Retrieved dated January 7, 2021 from https://headfoundation.org/HESB8/covid-19-

and-its-impact-on-higher-education-in-the-philippines/

Retrieved dated January 7, 2021 from

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/12/03/1974002/philippines-lowest-
reading-comprehension-among-79-countries

Retrieved from https://iep.utm.edu/freire/ dated January 7, 2021