Improving Reading and Writing of Grade-I Through Self-Made Filipino Reading Module

English acceptability Promotion of PE PE grammatical items PE lexical items Public school teachers’ perceptions ABSTRACT This study examined the improvement of reading and writing of Grade-I pupils of San Vicente Elementary School, Magsaysay-I, Division of Misamis Oriental through the Self-Made Filipino Reading Module for the school-year 2020-2021. Descriptive method of research was employed in this study using the EGRA assessment tool and peer interview. Mean and standard deviation were the statistical tool used to treat the data. The findings revealed that the Self-Made Filipino Reading Module highly improved the reading skills in terms of letter name knowledge, letter sound knowledge, initial sound discrimination, familiar word reading and non-word reading. Which means that most of the pupils performed the assessed indicator without mistake. While oral reading fluency passage and oral reading comprehension is improved. This means that most of the pupils performed the assessed indicator with slight mistake. Moreover, in the writing skill of the pupils, it was revealed that the ability to spell, follow spacing and direction of text and capitalization is improved. Which means that most of the pupils performed the assessed indicator with slight mistake.

According to Fischer and Frey (2003), reading modules provided a systematic and precise framework for teachers to teach reading comprehension and defined purposes for the learners. Modules as an instructional materials have concretized pretty well the principle of individual difference, allowing each pupils to proceed at his own pace, to assume responsibility for learning, to know exactly what they have to learn, and they are encouraged to master the module (Lardizabal, 2004). Reportedly, Miskin et.al (2007) developed Reading Comprehension Instructional Modules are remarkable and useful. The idea presented supports the notion of allowing self-pace and concrete learning experiences through the use of reading module. Moreover, according to Wilson & Conyers (2014), Visualizing while reading is a strategy that should be explicitly taught. The assumption that children are naturally imaginative may not be true for all pupils and even those with vivid imaginations may need guidance in applying the active process of making a form in their mind as they read "brain movies" to improve their understanding of what they read. Suggested steps to introduce brain movies were: select a book, poem, or reading passage with vivid, sensory-rich language to read aloud; introduce words or concepts that may be new to the pupils before reading, and share photographs and other images to help set the stage; emphasize that as we read or are read to, our imagination creates its own movie; discuss how pupils' experiences helped relate to the story and create their brain movies; note that many people find that visualizing what they read helps them to understand and remember the subject matter; and suggest that if they have a hard time visualizing a passage, they should reread it and look up any unfamiliar words. This contention led the researcher to develop reading module that visualizes the meaning of words used in a genre since the language introduced was Filipino, the second language of the pupil respondents. Filipino as the second language to be learned by the pupil respondents proposes a problem on reading comprehension. Language plays a vital role in reading. One cannot read a book in a language unless one knows the particular language. If a child's knowledge of Filipino is poor, then his reading will also be poor, and naturally all his reading comprehension. Reading an unfamiliar language will force a poor reader to apply all his concentration to word recognition and therefore has "no concentration left" to decode the written word and as a result he will not be able to read with comprehension. The decoding of written word is an important aspect of the reading act. Without being able to comprehend the word reading comprehension is impossible. Being able to completely and accurately comprehend what you read is essential to your ability to learn, perform well on tests and ultimately succeed in school and in a career. Rapid reading is valueless unless what is read is being understood. Reading comprehension in Filipino language and writing legibly the words learned are the target skill focus on this research. Using thirty-seven (37) frustration and instructional level pupils the teacher gave 4 filipino reading modules in a week for instructional pupil and 3 Filipino modules in a week for frustration readers. The number of modules given represents the number of letters in the Marungko Approach to be read with the helped of the parent/learning facilitator at home. The Filipino reading modules were given every Monday and a reading assessment through home visit or in a designated area by the teachers were conducted every Friday. This will be done for 8 weeks, and the reading progress will be captured through a video and or noted by the teacher. A posttest was conducted to reveal differences of the results.

INNOVATION, INTERVENTION AND STRATEGY
The conceptualization of the Self-Made Filipino Reading Module originated from the Power V-200 Reading Program Innovation which was conceptualized by Mrs. Merly B. Mabelin to the schools in the Division of Misamis Oriental. The Reading Program Innovation proposed 10 words to be read and mastered by the learners at home. This idea propels the researcher to make a Filipino Reading Module where the 10 words are visually introduced, used in a different type of literary genre as a springboard with follow-up comprehension questions in each module of the letters; comparing pictures with the same sounds; writing capital and small letters; spelling chart; activity to read words, phrases and sentences formed from connecting the letters as introduced first in the order of Marungko Approach alphabet and bridging the 10 words introduced from Filipino to English. This Self-Made Filipino Reading module caters the needs of Grade-I pupils in San Vicente Elementary School. This modules were given to 37 pupils respectively which has been diagnosed as Frustration and Instructional of the EGRA. The duration of this study runs from February to April 2021. Parents and or learning facilitators were called in a limited face-to-face orientation on the implementation of the reading activity and how will the Grade-I teachers assess the reading development of the learners. The research will focus on 7 out of 9 indicators to be assessed as adopted in D.O 57, s. 2015, The Utilization of EGRA tools for assessment system namely: Letter name knowledge; Letter sound knowledge; Initial sound discrimination; Familiar word reading; non-word reading; Oral reading fluency passage and oral reading comprehension; and Dictation. These indicators will describe quantitatively the improvement of reading and writing of SVES Grade-I pupils.
As of the present, the EPS in MTB-MLE encouraged Grade-I teachers in the Division of Misamis Oriental to utilize the Filipino Reading Modules. There were lesson videos created which was conceptualized from the Module.

ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The pandemic worsened the reading problems of a Grade-I teachers in every beginning of a school. Much more was the introduction of Filipino subject in the second quarter, the pupils were challenge on reading with comprehension since this is the second language of the pupils. The researcher's attention was caught on following problems: pupils tend to forget name of letter alphabets, not able to sound letters, lack of ability to identify the first sound of each word, unable to read familiar of high frequency words, inability to phonetically decode non-words or made up words, inability to quickly and accurately read connected text on a page and answer comprehension questions about what has been read, and inability to spell and follow mechanics of print such as spacing and direction of text, capitalization and punctuation. This research was conducted to answer the following: 1. How improved is the reading level of the pupil respondents after the implementation of comprehension questions of what has been read. Dictation ability to spell and follow mechanics of print such as spacing and direction of text, capitalization C. Data Collection Method/s Adhering to the standard operating procedures of the Department of Education, Division of Misamis Oriental, researcher asked the permission from the school head, Mrs. Lucena T. Uba, the teacher adviser of the other Grade-I section and together with the parents of the pupils for consent to let their children be the understudy of this research. After the permission was secured, the researcher together with her co-adviser in Grade-I personally administered the test to the pupils adopting the safety protocols as set by the IATF. To measure the pupils' improvement in reading ang writing EGRA was utilized as a tool. Result in their posttest was interpreted using the scale below:

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Volume 4 The table shows that the two indicators with the highest mean was the ability to name letters and knowledge of the sound of the letters in the alphabet which are qualitatively described as highly improved. It does mean that the pupils performed masterly the indicator assessed in the EGRA tool. It is in the first page of the Filipino Reading Module that the pupils will be able to name the alphabet introduced through the 10 pictures of familiar object in its Filipino name that starts with the sound of the letter. The idea of introducing picture of the objects in order to introduce the letter and its letter sounds is in consonance to the concept of Riesenhuber (2009) that for people who cannot learn words by phonetically spelling them out-which is the usual method for teaching reading-learning the whole word as a visual object a good strategy. Their finding states that when we look at a known word, our brain sees it like a picture, not a group of letters needing to be processed. If the brain can process the whole word from the picture or the visuals how much more, it is to remember the alphabet and its letter sounds.
Moreover, the ability to identify the first sound of each word, ability to read familiar or high frequency words and the ability to phonetically decode non-words or made-up words comes next. The three indicators are also qualitatively described as highly improved. This also means that the pupils performed masterly in these indicators. The next part of the Filipino Reading Module introduces different genre for every letters introduced. Those 10 pictures are used in a genre, it can be in a short story, poem or a factual statement and many alike. The picture is put on top or beside of a word it represents. The activities are made for the pupils to learn new words in Filipino given their meaning as represented in a picture. The use of words in a genre will let the pupil to master the words and eventually will be more meaningful as it completes the thought of a genre formed. Another page also in the module will let the pupils to compare a picture with the same initial sound from the adjacent set of objects. Then another page will let the pupils read the connected previous learned letters with the newly introduced letter as it formed into words, phrases and a sentence. The activities in the Self-Made Filipino Reading Module supplements the indicators needed to be improved. This also corroborates with the findings of Wilson & Conyers (2014), Visualizing while reading is a strategy that should be explicitly taught.
The assumption that children are naturally imaginative may not be true for all pupils and even those with vivid imaginations may need guidance in applying the active process of making a form in their mind as they read "brain movies" to improve their understanding of what they read. Suggested steps to introduce brain movies were: select a book, poem, or reading passage with vivid, sensory-rich language to read aloud; introduce words or concepts that may be new to the pupils before reading, and share photographs and other images to help set the stage; emphasize that as we read or are read to, our imagination creates its own movie; discuss how pupils' experiences helped relate to the story and create their brain movies; note that many people find that visualizing what they read helps them to understand and remember the subject matter; and suggest that if they have a hard time visualizing a passage, they should reread it and look up any unfamiliar words. The table further shows the indicator the ability to quickly and accurately read connected text on a page and answer comprehension questions about what has been read ranks the lowest mean with a qualitative description as improved. This means that pupils performed well on this indicator. On the other hand, The Filipino reading module reinforces the genre by supplying comprehension questions after it. The questions range from simple recall up to applying the situation in the genre to their daily lives. Possible answers were shown through a complete picture of the genre where the pupils are going to color, or to encircle the correct letter or a form of matching type. The overall mean shows highly improved on the assessed EGRA indicators. This means that pupils were able to masterly perform all the indicators. This only implies that the reading module improved the reading level of the Grade-I pupils.
It is in consonance with Fischer and Frey (2003), reading modules provided a systematic and precise framework for teachers to teach reading comprehension and defined purposes for the learners. Modules as an instructional materials have concretized pretty well the principle of individual difference, allowing each pupils to proceed at his own pace, to assume responsibility for learning, to know exactly what they have to learn, and they are encouraged to master the module (Lardizabal, 2004 Table 2 indicates the writing of the pupils in their ability to spell, follow mechanics of spacing and text direction and capitalization. It is qualitatively described as improved. This means that pupils performed well in the assessed indicator of the EGRA. The Selfmade Filipino Reading Module has a page intended to write the letters learned in the air, a page where they will re-write the letters introduced and to write the correct spelling of the 10 words learned on a box provided. The introduced words are capitalized if it is a Proper Noun. These are the activities introduced in the module in order to cater the needed skill to be developed as indicated in the EGRA. According to Cutler & Graham (2008), include daily time for writing of at least one hour, provide instructions for writing process for various purposes, teach word and sentence construction and foster engagement and community in the writing classroom.
However, it is difficult to determine how teachers approach writing instruction because the data on classroom writing practices are spare. This notion supports the data of the above that the pupils needed more activities and engagement time in order to improve their writing skill.

ACTION PLAN Objectives/ Targets
Strategies/ Activities

Time Frame Person Involved
Expected/ Output

Remarks
To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of M, S and A Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters M, S and A.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of Ang, I and O Marungko Approach alphabet. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of Ay, E and U Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters Ay, E and U.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of B, T and K Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters B, T and K.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer -Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters L, Y and Mga. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of N, G and R Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters N, G and R.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's.

Second week of February, 2021
Grade-I Advisers

Parents
Grade-I learners The pupils will masterly perform the expected target skills of the Letters N, G and R.
-Most of the pupils performed well in the indicators being assessed.
To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of P, NG and D Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters P, NG and D.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's.

Third week of February, 2021
Grade-I Advisers

Parents
Grade-I learners The pupils will masterly perform the expected target skills of the Letters P, NG and D.
-Most of the pupils performed well in the indicators being assessed.
To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of H, W and -ang Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters H, W andang.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's.

Fourth week of February, 2021
Grade-I Advisers

Parents
Grade-I learners The pupils will masterly perform the expected target skills of the Letters H, W and -ang.
-Most of the pupils performed well in the indicators being assessed.
To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of H, NGA-and Kambal Katinig Marungko Approach alphabet. To improve learners' ability to name, sound letters in the alphabet, identify the first sound of a word, read familiar or high frequency words, quickly and accurately read and answer comprehension questions and ability to spell, follow direction of text and capitalization of Q, V and X Marungko Approach alphabet.
-Printing of Self-Made Filipino Modules for letters Q, V and X.
-Distribution of modules to the learners together with the SLM's.

Third week of March, 2021
Grade-I Advisers

Parents
Grade-I learners The pupils will masterly perform the expected target skills of the Letters Q, V and X.
-Most of the pupils performed well in the indicators being assessed.