Chapter l

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction
Reading comprehension is also affected by the quality of the reading material. Some writers are
better writers than others, and some writers produce more complex reading material than
others. Text that is well organized and clear is called "considerate text,"and text that is poorly
organized and difficult to understand can be called "inconsiderate text."The more inconsiderate
the text, the more work will be required of a reader to comprehend the text. Readers who do
not have the background, abilities, or motivation to overcome the barriers presented in
inconsiderate text will have more difficulty comprehending these types of texts.
Students who had trouble learning to decode and recognize words often will have difficulty with
reading comprehension. Students who struggle with decoding rarely have a chance to interact
with more difficult text and often learn to dislike reading. As a result, these students do not
have sufficient opportunities to develop the language skills and strategies necessary for
becoming proficient readers.
Readers with poorly developed language skills and strategies will not have the tools to take
advantage of the obvious structures and comprehension cues that are part of considerate text
nor will they have the extra tools needed to overcome the barriers of inconsiderate text.
Reading comprehension is the process of constructing meaning from text. The goal of all
reading instruction is ultimately targeted at helping a reader comprehend text. Reading
comprehension involves at least two people: the reader and the writer. The process of
comprehending involves decoding the writer's words and then using background knowledge to
construct an approximate understanding of the writer's message.
Reading requires understanding or comprehending, or the meaning of print. Readers must
develop certain skills that will help them comprehend what they read and use this as an aid to
reading. Comprehensibility in writing is related to comprehension in reading. Comprehension
skill are the ability to use context and prior knowledge to aid reading and to make sense of what
one reads and hears. The reading comprehension is the ability to grasp something mentally and
the capacity to understand ideas and facts.
Comprehension is based on: (a) knowledge that reading makes sense, (b) reader's prior
knowledge, (c) information presented in the text, (d) and the use of context to assist recognition
of words and meaning.
Reading comprehension skills separate the "passive"unskilled reader from the "active"skilled
reader. Skilled reader do not just read, they interact with the text.
The Background and Purpose of the study
Reading is indispensable. No amount of learning will even take place if one does not know how
to read. It is reading that helps man discover the answers to questions about existence; it
stimulates him to further efforts to unravel of mysteries of nature; and it takes him into the
world of thought and imagination, an adventure which enables him to acquire a clearer and
deeper understanding of reality.
Reading is a basic avenue for learning. It is the key to enlightenment as it opens the door to all
disciplines (Caloma, 1984). However, there is no substitute for reading in achieving many types
of personal development and social progress. The ability to read well is one of a persons most
valuable achievements.
Further, there are some students who are able to sound out words although they do not know
what the words mean. Others can read fluently but fail to understand the meaning of what they
read.
In regard with this, the researchers have conducted a research study entitled: The Levels of
Reading Comprehension among selected HUMSS students of ICCT Colleges inc. Taytay Campus.
This study, were going to find out the level of reading Comprehension of each selected HUMSS
students and test their reading capabilities.
This study aimed to determine the levels of reading comprehension among HUMSS students.
This research aims to provide heightened awareness about the importance of reading
comprehension to the respondents. This research also include solutions and suggestions to
improve the reading comprehension of students.

RELATED LITERATURE
Local literature
[1]One article from Philippine Star states that:
The undeniable fact remains that majority of Filipino students do not possess the ability and
motivation to read. In 2007, the Department of Education reported that 70 percent or our
learners are incapable of reading within the expected level.
Former DepEd Sec. Abad deplored the poor performance of the pupilsassessment test and said
that, the low scores in English, Mathematics and Science can be attributed to pupilslack of
ability in basic reading and comprehension. In addition, he said that one of the major problems
in reading is the poor reading comprehension, which leads to poor understanding of printed
symbols.
Explanation:
Reading comprehension skills is crucial to students. It helps them to be competent in schools
and attain high academic outcomes. Being able to speak and understand English is very vital for
Filipino students since most subjects are written in English. In mathematics, students are given
lots of word problems, without reading comprehension skills, students will struggle determining
what is actually being asked and said. Proper reading comprehension will help students learn
scientific related topics, digest facts, and understand scientific methods or processes.

[2]Kalb &van Ours (2012) noted that poor readers are at great risk in academic and social
failure. They have lesser chances to graduate from high school and less likely to be employed.
Explanation:
Kalb &van Ours expound that students who struggle in reading are more likely to fail their
studies. He also associates poor reading to social failures as poor readers consider themselves
as angry, distractible, sad, lonely, and unpopular than those who can read well. Poor readers are
less likely to graduate from high school because reading comprehension skills is very vital in
understanding academic lectures and the lack of the said skill can lead to academic failures.
They also have lesser chances to be employed since reading and comprehension is a must in
every profession.

Foreign Literature
[1]Tiara Swinson (2019) stated that once in high school, the focus on reading comprehension
will be to gain a deep understanding of the material and learn to analyze it and apply it to the
curriculum in the class as well as curriculum they may have in other subjects.
Much of your child's reading comprehension in high school will be designed with the focus of
preparing them for their future education goals. Once in college, your child will be assigned
reading lists and be expected to keep up with it. Classes typically involve lectures on the
material that the student read where the professor will delve deeper into the material and
relate it to the particular field your child is studying.
Continue to encourage reading for pleasure and engage with your child, providing them with
new words to add to their vocabulary and challenging them with throughout provoking
questions about their reading material.
Being supportive of your children, and staying on top of any struggles they have with reading
comprehension, can help you stave off any problems that could hinder their success both in
high school and further into their education.

[2]Reading comprehension is important to the students especially in highschool. There are

many tasks and lectures that are need to read critically. It helps the students to understand
clearly the text and gain a deep understanding.
Swinson (2019) explained that reading comprehension in high school will be designed with the
focus of preparing them for their future education goals. This shows that reading
comprehension also preparing the students to their future goals in life especially in college. It
can help the students to decide what are their goals in their life. Reading comprehension also
gives us idea to know the other things that a person did not know.
Also, Swinson (2019) suggested that having a supportive parent in any struggles that the
students encounter with reading comprehension can help the students to face the problems
that could hinder their success. Students also need help in having a problem in reading
comprehension. It can hinder their future goals and performance in schools when reading
comprehension is needed. Students needs to encourage themselves to face their problem in
reading comprehension to become successful in life and to achieve their dreams. It just needed
a confidence and encouragement to themselves.
[2]Deborah K. Reed, Ph.D. (2016) stated that the other components of reading, vocabulary and
comprehension, continue to develop across our lifetimes. For students in the very early stages
of learning to read, oral language experiences and exposure to books are the keys to growing
knowledge of words and the meaning-making process of reading.
One of the reasons behind the misconception that working on phonological awareness, phonics,
and fluency means students should not be taught comprehension skills is that reading tests
administered in the early grades tend to target knowledge of foundational skills. Silent reading
comprehension cannot be assessed reliably until about third grade because students are still
building their abilities to integrate the big fivecomponents in order to read and respond to
connected text independently. However, there is a lot of instruction on vocabulary and
comprehension that needs to happen in order to help students be successful with the ways we
measure their reading abilities in Grade 3 and beyond. For example, students need practice
making predictions or answering questions about the books they are listening to a teacher read
or are reading with a teachers support. Development of those early comprehension skills should
be monitored to ensure all students are on track to be successful readers.
Teaching comprehension while students are still mastering foundational reading skills will not
only allow for students to demonstrate age-appropriate skills, but it also will help reinforce the
reasons we read in the first place: to derive meaning, understanding, and enjoyment from a
book or other text.
Reed, Ph.D. (2016) explain that reading comprehension is continuously develop. The knowledge
of a person is continually growing and it helps a person understand more about a topic.
Learning to read can help the students to know unfamiliar words and it can also help to the
readers to think out of the box and use his imagination. Exposure to books can help to grow our
understanding. Teaching reading comprehension can help the students clearly understand the
text that they've read and teaching it can add enjoyment to them. Reed, Ph.D. (2016) stated
that "Development of those early comprehension skills should be monitored to ensure all
students are on track to be successful readers"it explained that reading comprehension should
keep on eye to be able to be successful readers. Knowing what are the learnings that a students
need to improve can help them to practice more when incomes in reading. It can also help the
students to understand rapidly the text without reading it repeatedly. Answering a critical
question is possible when the students is continuously reading. Reading comprehension can
help the students to know the things that the students have to know. Continually reading helps
to improve the student's comprehension.

[3]K. Lenz, Ph.D. (2016) stated that reading comprehension is the process of constructing
meaning from text. The goal of all reading instruction is ultimately targeted at helping a reader
comprehend text. Reading comprehension involves at least two people: the reader and the
writer. The process of comprehending involves decoding the writer's words and then using
background knowledge to construct an approximate understanding of the writer's message.
What factors affect reading comprehension?
While word identification is a process that results in a fairly exact outcome (i.e., a student either
reads the word "automobile"or not) the process of comprehending text is not so exact.
Different readers will interpret an author's message in different ways. Comprehension is
affected by the reader's knowledge of the topic, knowledge of language structures, knowledge
of text structures and genres, knowledge of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, their
reasoning abilities, their motivation, and their level of engagement.
Reading comprehension is also affected by the quality of the reading material. Some writers are
better writers than others, and some writers produce more complex reading material than
others. Text that is well organized and clear is called "considerate text,"and text that is poorly
organized and difficult to understand can be called "inconsiderate text."The more inconsiderate
the text, the more work will be required of a reader to comprehend the text. Readers who do
not have the background, abilities, or motivation to overcome the barriers presented in
inconsiderate text will have more difficulty comprehending these types of texts.
Students who had trouble learning to decode and recognize words often will have difficulty with
reading comprehension. Students who struggle with decoding rarely have a chance to interact
with more difficult text and often learn to dislike reading. As a result, these students do not
have sufficient opportunities to develop the language skills and strategies necessary for
becoming proficient readers.
Readers with poorly developed language skills and strategies will not have the tools to take
advantage of the obvious structures and comprehension cues that are part of considerate text
nor will they have the extra tools needed to overcome the barriers of inconsiderate text.
The type of instruction that a student receives will also affect reading comprehension. Strategies
for improving reading comprehension must be taught directly by teachers. Simply providing
opportunities or requiring children to read will not teach many students the comprehension
strategies they need to be proficient readers. These need to be taught directly as students learn
to read simple sentences and this direct instruction needs to continue in different forms
throughout a student's elementary and secondary school experience.
What are the different components of teaching reading comprehension?
There are many ways to think about reading comprehension and many factors that affect
reading comprehension. Teachers should keep in mind two overriding questions about how to
organize how to teach reading comprehension. These questions are, "What strategies should I
teach?"and "How should I teach strategies?"
What strategies should I teach? The most practical way of thinking about teaching reading
comprehension is to organize instruction according to how you want students to think about
strategies. For this reason, the most straightforward way of organizing comprehension strategies
is to think about strategies that one might use before reading, during reading, and after reading.
Before Reading Strategies consist of those strategies that a student learns to use to get ready
to read a text selection. These strategies help the student get an idea of what the author might
be trying to say, how the information might be useful, and to create a mental set that might be
useful for taking in and storing information. These strategies could include previewing headings,
surveying pictures, reading introductions and summaries, creating a pre-reading outline,
creating questions that might need to be answered, making predictions that need to be
confirmed, etc. The primary question for a teacher here is: "What steps (observable as well as
unobservable) should I teach students to do regularly and automatically that will prepare them
in advance to get the most out of a reading selection that needs to be read more thoroughly?"
When a teacher introduces a reading selection to students, walks students through the text,
helps the students get ready to read through the use of advance organizers, or creates pre-
reading outlines, he/she is ensuring content learning by compensating for the fact that students
have not developed good Before-Reading Strategies. Teachers will need to continue to lead
students in these types of before-reading activities to ensure content area learning occurs until
students have been taught to fluently use Before-Reading Strategies. Teacher use of before-
reading prompts and activities does not necessarily lead students to develop and use Before-
Reading Strategies independently without direct and explicit instruction. This is why it is
important to directly teach and provide practice that gradually requires students to use Before-
Reading strategies.
During Reading Strategies consist of those strategies that students learn to use while they are
reading a text selection. These strategies help the student focus on how to determine what the
author is actually trying to say and to match the information with what the student already
knows. These strategies should be influenced by the Before Reading Strategies because
students should be using or keeping in mind the previews, outlines, questions, predictions, etc.
that were generated before reading and then using this information to digest what they are
reading. The During Reading Strategies that help a student understand during reading include
questioning, predicting, visualizing, paraphrasing, elaborating (i.e., comparing what is read to
what is known), changing reading rate, rereading, etc. The primary question for a teacher is:
"What steps (observable and unobservable) should I teach students to do so that they will
regularly and automatically figure out the intended meaning of the text and how it connects to
what they already know?"
When a teacher develops reading guides and outlines that need to be completed during
reading, requires students to ask and answer questions, creates summaries as they read,
etc.they are compensating for the fact that students have not developed good During-Reading
Strategies. Teachers will need to continue to lead students in these types of during-reading
activities to ensure content area learning occurs until students are taught to fluently use Before-
Reading Strategies. Teacher use of during-reading prompts and activities does not necessarily
lead students to develop and use During-Reading Strategies independently without direct and
explicit instruction. This is why it is important to directly teach and provide practice that
gradually requires students to use During-Reading strategies.
After-Reading Strategies consist of those strategies that students learn to use when they have
completed reading a text selection. These strategies are used to help the student "look
back"and think about the message of the text and determine the intended or possible meanings
that might be important. These strategies are used to follow up and confirm what was learned
(e.g., answer questions or confirm predictions) from the use of before and during reading
strategies. However, After-Reading Strategies also help the reader to focus on determining what
the big, critical, or overall idea of the author's message was and how it might be used before
moving on to performance tasks or other learning tasks. The primary question for a teacher is:
"What steps (observable and unobservable) should I teach students to do so that they will
regularly and automatically stop when they are finished reading a text selection and try to figure
out the intended meaning of the text to determine what is most important and how they will
use it?"
When a teacher reviews a reading selection, leads a discussion on what was important about
the author's message, helps students summarize or "look back"at what was read, provides a
post-organizer, or asks students to complete a study guide over what was learned from reading
text, the teacher is compensating for the fact that students have not developed good After-
Reading Strategies. Teachers will need to continue to lead students in these types of before
reading-activities to ensure content area learning occurs until students have been taught to
fluently use After-Reading Strategies. Teacher use of after-reading prompts and activities does
not necessarily lead students to develop and use After-Reading Strategies independently
without direct and explicit instruction. This is why it is important to directly teach and provide
practice that gradually requires students to use After-Reading strategies.
What are some examples of specific strategies?Some examples of strategies are listed below.
Some of these strategies could be used in all three categories. For example, questioning could
be listed in the before, during, and after reading categories. Summarization could be listed as
both during and after reading strategies. These are grouped based on where the greatest
amount of instruction needs to take place.
Before-Reading Strategies
 Before Reading Self-questioning
During-Reading Strategies
During Reading Self-questioning
Paragraph Summarization
Section Summarization
After-Reading Strategies
After Reading Self-questioning
After Reading Summarization
How do you teach comprehension strategies?
A majority of the research indicates that the most successful way to teach comprehension
strategies to students with limited reading proficiency is to use very direct and explicit
instruction. The stages of instruction that are most often cited as being effective in helping a
student learn a strategy are: (1) orient students to key concepts, assess, and ask students to
make a commitment to learn, (2) describe the purpose of the strategy, the potential benefits,
and the steps of the strategy, (3) model (thinking aloud) the behavioral and cognitive
steps/actions involved in using the strategy, (4) lead verbal practice and elaboration of the key
information and steps related to the strategy, (5) provide for guided and controlled practice of
the strategy with detailed feedback from the teacher and/or knowledgeable peers, (6) gradually
move to more independent and advanced practice of the strategy with feedback from the
teacher and/or knowledgeable peers, and (7) posttest application of the strategy, and help
students make commitments to generalize its use. Once the strategy is learned, the teacher
must then ensure that students begin to transfer or generalize the strategy to new and different
situations. The eighth stage, generalization, includes four distinct phases: (1) orientation and
awareness of situations in which the strategy can be used, (2) activation by preparing for and
practicing strategies in content-area classes, (3) adaptation of the strategy steps for use in other
tasks, and (4) maintenance of the strategy for continued application in a variety of real-life
learning and work place settings.
What are the key principles of reading instruction?
Teach reading comprehension skills and strategies at all levels of reading development. Teachers
at every grade level and every subject area should always be planning how reading assignments
will help students develop and practice skills and strategies. Students need teachers to teach
and draw attention to appropriate strategy use in textbooks, especially in content areas where
there are many reading demands (e.g., language, social studies, and often science). A reading
comprehension skill is a developed ability to construct meaning effectively, immediately, and
effortlessly with little conscious attention. A reading comprehension strategy is defined as an
overt process consciously selected and used by a reader to aid the process of constructing
meaning more effectively and efficiently. Once a student uses a strategy effectively, immediately
and effortlessly with little conscious attention to construct meaning, it becomes a reading skill.
Most planning for comprehension instruction is targeted at teaching comprehension strategies
and then developing practice activities that help the student become skilled in the use of the
strategy so that it is unconsciously selected and used in a variety of situations.Reading
comprehension instruction must be responsive. Continually assess progress in learning, make
specific instructional accommodations to meet individual student's needs, and provided
individualized and elaborated feedback.Reading comprehension instruction must be systematic.
Systematic reading instruction is structured, connected, scaffolded, and informative. Structured
instruction is characterized by lessons that organize and group new knowledge and skills into
segments that can be sequentially presented in a clear manner. Connected instruction is
characterized by lessons that show the learner connections between the segments and what is
already known. Scaffolded lessons are characterized by instruction in which the teacher
provides to students, early in the learning process, a significant amount of support in the form
of modeling, prompts, direct explanations, and targeted questions. Then as students begin to
acquire the targeted objective, direct teacher supports are reduced, and the major
responsibilities for learning is transferred to the student. Informative instruction is characterized
by lessons in which the teacher explains the purposes and expected outcomes and
requirements for learning and when and how that newly learned information will be
useful.Reading comprehension instruction must be intensive. Intensive reading instruction
means that sufficient time, used wisely and with high student engagement, is provided direct
instruction for students to master the reading skills and strategies they need.Reading
comprehension instruction should involve authentic reading at all stages. Authentic reading
involves incorporating a variety of "real"reading materials, such as books, magazines, and
newspapers into the instructional process.Reading comprehension instruction involves
providing opportunities to read for pleasure. Struggling readers don't read as often or as much
as their peers. Reading for enjoyment should be modeled and encouraged at all grade levels.
This requires providing ample materials to read at their independent reading level.Reading
comprehension instruction requires collaboration with other professionals and shared
responsibility for student success. All teachers play either a primary or secondary role in
teaching students to read. All classroom teachers who expect students to learn the content of
specific subjects need to be teaching reading. Studies have shown that one of the most
damaging practices affecting struggling readers is the lack of coordination among educators that
are responsible for literacy development. Building staff must work together to plan and
implement effective instruction in reading comprehension.
Reading Comprehension involves at least two people: the reader and the writer. Decoding the
writer's words and then using background knowledge to construct an approximate
understanding of the writers message involves the process of comprehending.
There are factors that will affect reading comprehension
Comprehending text is not so exact. Readers have different ways to interpret an author's
message. Readers Knowledge of the topic, Knowledge of language structures, Knowledge of text
structures and genres, Knowledge of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, their reasoning
abilities, their motivation, and their level of engagement affects comprehension. There are
"considerate text"which is poorly organized and difficult to understand. Students who had
trouble learning to decode, recognize words and students who dislike reading are those people
that will not have sufficient opportunities to develop their language skills and strategies
necessary for becoming proficient readers. For the students enhance their reading
comprehension, there are some reading strategies for the readers itself understand the text
easily.

[4]According to Honig, B., L. Diamond, and L. Gutlohn. (2013) the process of comprehending
text begins before children can read, when someone reads a picture book to them. They listen
to the words, see the pictures in the book, and may start to associate the words on the page
with the words they are hearing and the ideas they represent.
In order to learn comprehension strategies, students need modeling, practice, and feedback.
The key comprehension strategies are described below.
Using Prior Knowledge/Previewing
When students preview text, they tap into what they already know that will help them to
understand the text they are about to read. This provides a framework for any new information
they read.
Predicting
When students make predictions about the text they are about to read, it sets up expectations
based on their prior knowledge about similar topics. As they read, they may mentally revise
their prediction as they gain more information.
Identifying the Main Idea and Summarization
Identifying the main idea and summarizing requires that students determine what is important
and then put it in their own words. Implicit in this process is trying to understand the authors
purpose in writing the text.
Questioning
Asking and answering questions about text is another strategy that helps students focus on the
meaning of text. Teachers can help by modeling both the process of asking good questions and
strategies for finding the answers in the text.
Making Inferences
In order to make inferences about something that is not explicitly stated in the text, students
must learn to draw on prior knowledge and recognize clues in the text itself.
Visualizing
Studies have shown that students who visualize while reading have better recall than those who
do not (Pressley, 1977). Readers can take advantage of illustrations that are embedded in the
text or create their own mental images or drawings when reading text without illustrations.
Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Narrative Text
Narrative text tells a story, either a true story or a fictional story. There are a number of
strategies that will help students understand narrative text.
Story Maps
Teachers can have students diagram the story grammar of the text to raise their awareness of
the elements the author uses to construct the story. Story grammar includes:
Setting: When and where the story takes place (which can change over the course of the
story).Characters: The people or animals in the story, including the protagonist (main character),
whose motivations and actions drive the story.Plot: The story line, which typically includes one
or more problems or conflicts that the protagonist must address and ultimately resolve.Theme:
The overriding lesson or main idea that the author wants readers to glean from the story. It
could be explicitly stated as in Aesops Fables or inferred by the reader (more common).
Retelling
Asking students to retell a story in their own words forces them to analyze the content to
determine what is important. Teachers can encourage students to go beyond literally recounting
the story to drawing their own conclusions about it.
Prediction
Teachers can ask readers to make a prediction about a story based on the title and any other
clues that are available, such as illustrations. Teachers can later ask students to find text that
supports or contradicts their predictions.
Answering Comprehension Questions
Asking students different types of questions requires that they find the answers in different
ways, for example, by finding literal answers in the text itself or by drawing on prior knowledge
and then inferring answers based on clues in the text.
Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Expository Text
Expository text explains facts and concepts in order to inform, persuade, or explain.
The Structure of Expository Text
Expository text is typically structured with visual cues such as headings and subheadings that
provide clear cues as to the structure of the information. The first sentence in a paragraph is
also typically a topic sentence that clearly states what the paragraph is about.
Expository text also often uses one of five common text structures as an organizing principle:
Cause and effectProblem and solutionCompare and contrastDescriptionTime order (sequence of
events, actions, or steps)
Teaching these structures can help students recognize relationships between ideas and the
overall intent of the text.
Main Idea/Summarization
A summary briefly captures the main idea of the text and the key details that support the main
idea. Students must understand the text in order to write a good summary that is more than a
repetition of the text itself.
K-W-L
There are three steps in the K-W-L process (Ogle, 1986):
What I Know: Before students read the text, ask them as a group to identify what they already
know about the topic. Students write this list in the Kcolumn of their K-W-L forms.What I Want
to Know: Ask students to write questions about what they want to learn from reading the text in
the Wcolumn of their K-W-L forms. For example, students may wonder if some of the
factsoffered in the Kcolumn are true.What I Learned: As they read the text, students should look
for answers to the questions listed in the Wcolumn and write their answers in the Lcolumn
along with anything else they learn.
After all of the students have read the text, the teacher leads a discussion of the questions and
answers.
Printable K-W-L chart (blank)
Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers provide visual representations of the concepts in expository text.
Representing ideas and relationships graphically can help students understand and remember
them.
Teaching students how to develop and construct graphic organizers will require some modeling,
guidance, and feedback. Teachers should demonstrate the process with examples first before
students practice doing it on their own with teacher guidance and eventually work
independently.
Strategies for Reading Comprehension in Read Naturally Programs
Several Read Naturally programs include strategies that support comprehension:
Read Naturally Live:
A mostly independent, cloud-based program with built-in audio support. Focuses on fluency
and phonics with additional support for vocabulary.
Read Naturally Encore:
A mostly independent, print-based program with audio support on CDs. Focuses on fluency and
phonics with additional support for vocabulary.
Read Naturally GATE:
Teacher-led instruction for small groups of early readers. Focuses on phonics and fluency
instruction with additional support for phonemic awareness and vocabulary.
One Minute Reader iPad App:
A guided reading app that develops readersfluency with additional support for vocabulary.
One Minute Reader Books/CDs:
Printed books with audio support on CDs that develop readersfluency with additional support
for vocabulary.
Take Aim at Vocabulary: A print-based program with audio CDs that teaches carefully selected
target words and strategies for independently learning unknown words. Students work mostly
independently or in teacher-led small groups of up to six students.
Comprehension starts with the words you hear and for the ideas of the person to represent. In
other words it is the ability of the person to understand what's in a text. In order to learn
comprehension strategies, students need modeling, practice, and feedback.
The key comprehension strategies are described below.
Using Prior Knowledge/ Previewing
It provides framework for any new information the students read.
Prediction
Expectations based on the students prior knowledge about similar topics.
Identifying the Main Ideas and Summarization
Understand the author's purpose in writing the text.
Questioning
Asking and answering questions process will help the students focus on the meaning of the text.
Making Inference
Recognize clues in the text itself.
Visualizing
Readers can take advantage of illustrations that are embedded in the text or create their own
mental images or drawings when reading text without illustrations.
There are Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Narrative Text, Strategies for Reading
Comprehension: Expository Text and Strategies for Reading Comprehension in Read Naturally
Programs, this will help the students to increases the enjoyment and effectiveness of their
reading and helps not only academically, but professionally, and in a person's personal life.

[5]According to P. Kendeou, K. McMaster, T. Christ (2016) Reading comprehension is

multidimensional and complex. The persistent challenges children, adolescents, and even adults
face with reading comprehension call for concerted efforts to develop assessments that help
identify sources of difficulties and to design instructional approaches to prevent or ameliorate
these difficulties. Doing so requires drawing on extant research to understand the core
components and processes of reading comprehension. This article reviews the theoretical and
empirical literature on the construction of meaning during reading comprehension and derives
implications for research, practice, and policy related to instruction and assessment. We focus
specifically on the inferential processes that extract meaning from text and the sources of
knowledge that facilitate the extraction and construction of meaning.
The results showed that there was a unique effect of reading strategies on reading
comprehension, and also of reading comprehension on reading strategies.
Reading comprehension is dependent on several cognitive and linguistic processes. Verhoeven
and Perfetti . Advances in text comprehension: Model, process and development. Applied
Cognitive Psychology,distinguish letter- and word-level processes and above-the-word-level
comprehension processes. At the letter- level and word-level, students have to be able to read
accurately and fluently.[5]

RELATED STUDIES

Local Studies
[1]Orencia (2006) noted:
Children only learn only half of what they are supposed to learn in school. The small percentage
of readership in the Philippines and the dismal performance of pupils in tests on reading
demonstrates the failure of many local schools to effectively foster the aims of reading
education.
Explanation:
Orencia (2006) explained that the incompetence of Filipino students in reading comprehension
is due to the teachers' ineffective teaching strategies. The results of his study showed that
reading programs had a positive impact on pupils' comprehension and attitude toward reading.
Ideally, reading programs ought to produce students who can and will read as a habit. He
recommended to implement reading programs in schools and to give the necessary attention to
the improvement in teaching strategies.
[2]Comprehension is the prime goal of reading and comprehension failures can lead to school
failures. Despite the Philippines supposedly high literacy rate of 88.6 %, many Filipinos can
barely read and write (Juan Miguel Cruz , 2007, cited in Selangan, 2015). He noted;
This is true especially of those living in remote areas as well as the slum areas of the country.
Someone once remarked that we are not a nation of readers; we are a nation of storytellers.
Ours is a culture of oral history passed on by word of mouth, not through the written word.
According to the results of the 2003 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey. (par.
5)
EXPLANATION:
Juan Miguel Cruz (2007) explained in his study that one of the reasons why Filipinos can barely
write and read is because of their oral traditions. Filipinos, particularly indigenous groups value
oral traditions with high regards leaving writing and reading skills rarely practiced. He also gave
emphasize that Philippines being a nation of storytellers, do not consider reading habit required
in learning. This problem of nonreading explains why many students are facing difficulties in
reading and comprehension.
Foreign Studies
[1]According to Rebecca J. Baier (2005) hypothesized that students who use reading
comprehension strategies while reading retain more information and comprehend the text
better. It was also hypothesized that students who have good reading comprehension skills
perform better on reading comprehension tests. Fourteen sixth grade students in a small town
private school were identified for this study. The students were given the Qualitative Reading
Inventory - 4 reading comprehension pretests after determining their individual reading levels.
The students then began a six-week long study of the Self-Questioning Reading Strategy. At the
conclusion of the study the students were again given the Qualitative Reading Inventory - 4
reading comprehension posttests. A comparison of the percent correct on the reading
comprehension pretests and posttests was taken. Twelve of the fourteen sixth grade students
demonstrated improvement in the reading comprehension scores. Two of the fourteen students
resulted in no change in the reading comprehension scores. There were no students that
exhibited a decline in scores. It was concluded that the sixth grade literature students
performed better on the posttests where they used the Self-Questioning Reading Strategy.
Further study recommendations included completing this study on different age groups or using
different reading comprehension strategies.
According to Baier (2005), students that use reading strategies can understand the text more
and can retain the information. A students that perform better in reading comprehension can
analyze the comprehension tests. This explains that strategies are important and learning it also
need an enjoyment.
The conclusion of this study is that the sixth grade literature students performed better on the
doing the Self-Questioning Reading Strategy.
Based on the recommendations on reading comprehension Baer (2005) included that this study
can perform based on the age or using the different reading strategies.

[2]Bożena Kwiatkowska-White (2012) explained the ability to extract meaning from text is an
important skill. Yet many students struggle with effectively comprehending what they read. In
comparison with research carried out with younger students, there is a lack of research in the
reading comprehension of adolescents (Grades 4 – 12). The goal of this dissertation was to
increase our understanding of the factors that underlie the poor reading comprehension
abilities of this older group of students. This dissertation includes two studies drawn from a
sample of 137 age 15 year old high school students. Study One utilized archival data from
government mandated tests of reading achievement of 78 students administered in Grades 3, 6,
and 10, and results from a commercially available test of reading comprehension administered
in Grade 10. This longitudinal study examined the prevalence of the stability, cumulative
growth, and compensatory models in reading comprehension development. Probabilities of
later-grade reading achievement categorization conditioned on earlier-grade reading
achievement were computed, the prevalence of developmental paths was estimated, and tests
of regression to the mean were conducted. Overall findings suggest considerable stability across
time.
Study Two examined the specificity of the comprehension weaknesses of 15 year old readers
whose comprehension skills are below those expected from their skill in word reading and
nonverbal ability (unexpected poor comprehenders). Regression analyses identified unexpected
poor comprehenders, and two contrast groups (expected average and unexpected good
comprehenders). Characteristics of unexpected poor comprehenders are examined after
controlling for word-reading accuracy, phonological decoding, reading rate, nonverbal ability,
and vocabulary. Findings indicate a critical disadvantage of unexpected poor comprehenders lies
in their weakness in vocabulary and comprehension difficulties related to the identification of
details and main ideas in summary writing remain when vocabulary is controlled. Implications
for interpreting previous and informing future research are discussed
According to Bozena Kwiatkowska-White (2012), the ability to analyze the meaning from the
text is the most important in reading comprehension. Many of the students are struggling in
analyzing what they are reading. Reading comprehension of adolescents has a lack of
knowledge that the younger students. That's why Kwiatkowska-White conducted his study to
know the factors of poor reading comprehension abilities of the older group of students.
Kwiatkowska-White (2015) find out that the disadvantage of unexpected poor comprehenders
depends in their weakness in vocabulary and comprehension difficulties. He finds out that
vocabulary can affect the reading comprehension of a student. There are several old students
that has a problem in vocabulary. This is the reason why there are students that can't solve their
problem in reading comprehension. In understanding the reading comprehension, there is
always a hindrance. Every reader should encounter it to be able to overcome this hindrance. It
can add an additional information and knowledge that will improve their reading skills.

[3The present study is related to the ongoing transition from print based texts to multimodal
digital
texts of Plocher (2016) which can be read and interacted with using a variety of devices such as
computers,
laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, phones and iPods. The study results shed light on the reading
comprehension of middle school
students when they used one of three reading comprehension techniques when reading
digital textbooks in their history class.
The study provide insights into
the impact of the three reading comprehension techniques have on reading comprehension
when digital texts are read.
In the study of Plocher (2016) results that a one-way ANCOVA was used to test for differences in
the means of the post-
test scores. The ANCOVA for three independent samples calculations suggested that the
three reading comprehension methods studied, the RRM method, SQRRR method, and
the Cloze method, had the same effect on reading comprehension when students read a
digital textbook in their history class.
The results of this study seem to show that the three reading comprehension
methods have the same effect on reading comprehension when students use either the
RRM, SQRRR or Cloze method when reading digital text.
The results of the study suggests that the three reading comprehension methods
that were studied have the same effect on reading comprehension when students read a
digital textbook. The literature has suggested that the Reading Road Map method should
be used to bridge the gap between print and digital literacies (Wood, 2011). When using
the Reading Road Map to read and comprehend digital text only as was done in this
study, it appears to have the same effect when compared to traditional reading
comprehension methods such as the SQRRR method and the Cloze method that were
devised to be used when only reading print text.
This trend is also mirrored in the present generation by using technologies that allow the
student to read. Plocher (2016) explained that which can be read and interacted with using a
variety of devices such as computers,
laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, phones and iPods.
In using the ANCOVA either of the three methods of reading comprehension have the same
effect on reading comprehension when the student read whether it is in a gadget or device.
There are some possibilities that other may not comprehend well. According to the study of
Plocher (2016) that the three reading comprehension methods
that were studied have the same effect on reading comprehension when students read a
digital textbook.[3]

[4]The aim of the present study of A. Mangen, B.R. Walgermo, K. Brønnick (2013) was to
investigate the potential impact of the reading modality on certain aspects of reading
comprehension. Based on existing research, we predicted that subjects in the print reading
condition would perform better
on the reading comprehension test than subjects in the computer reading condition. Our
findings provided support for this
hypothesis. Subjects who read the texts on paper performed significantly better than subjects
who read the texts on the
computer screen. Our second prediction was that comprehension performance would be more
negatively affected by
computer presentation for the expository text than for the narrative text. This hypothesis was
not supported by our data, as
there were no differences for the two types of text genre (i.e., narrative and expository) with
regard to reading modality.
There are several possible explanations why, in the present study, subjects in the print condition
scored significantly
higher on the comprehension tests than those in the screen condition. Considering the length of
the stimulus text, and the
fact that the computer condition text was in PDF format, the difference in comprehension
performance between the print
and the computer group could be related to issues of navigation within the document. When
reading on screen, scrolling is
inevitable unless the text is within the screen size. Scrolling is known to hamper the process of
reading, by imposing a spatial
instability which may negatively affect the readers mental representation of the text and, by
implication, comprehension
(Baccino, 2004; Eklundh, 1992; Piolat, Roussey, &Thunin, 1997). By presenting the texts as PDFs,
we intended to minimize
the potentially negative effects of scrolling. However, the scrolling option was not excluded from
our material. We have no
data showing whether or not, and to what extent, the students in the computer condition used
the scrolling option when
reading the texts. Hence, it cannot be eliminated that students in the computer condition
scrolled during reading, and that
this scrolling negatively impacted their comprehension performance.
Another navigation issue is related to the ways in which the two types of media determine and
restrict ones access to the
texts in their entirety. Evidence suggests that readers often recall where in a text some
particular piece of information appeared (e.g., toward the upper right corner or at the bottom
of the page) (Piolat et al., 1997; Rothkopf, 1971; Zechmeister &
McKillip, 1972). We know from empirical and theoretical research that having a good spatial
mental representation of the
physical layout of the text supports reading comprehension (Baccino &Pynte, 1994; Cataldo
&Oakhill, 2000; Kintsch, 1998;
Piolat et al., 1997). For instance, Cataldo and Oakhill (2000) found that good comprehenders
were significantly better than
poor comprehenders at remembering and relocating the order of information in a text, hence
implying a relation between
mental reconstruction of text structure and reading comprehension. To this effect, the fixity of
text printed on paper supports
readers construction of the spatial representation of the text by providing unequivocal and fixed
spatial cues for text
memory and recall. In order to appropriately respond to the multiple choice questions, the
subjects in our study were
required to locate, access and retrieve essential pieces of information in the two texts. It is
known that comprehension tasks
become more difficult when the information required to complete a task, such as answering
questions in a reading
comprehension assessment, is not immediately visible, for instance, when the reader has to
integrate information occurring
at locations in a text which are spatially far apart (OECD, 2011). Such integration requires that
the reader has constructed a
solid mental representation of the structure of the text. Even with the relatively short texts in
our study (4 pages), it is not
unreasonable to assume that the intangibility of the digital text might have challenged the
readersmental reconstruction of
the physical layout of the text, which in turn might have impeded their overview as well as
ability to access, locate and
retrieve required pieces of textual information.
The study indicates that reading linear narrative and expository texts on a computer screen
leads to poorer
reading comprehension than reading the same text on paper. It has several pedagogical
implications. Firstly,
we should not assume that changing the presentation format for even short texts used in
reading assessments will not have a
significant impact on reading performance. If texts are longer than a page, scrolling and the lack
of spatiotemporal markers of
the digital texts to aid memory and reading comprehension might impede reading performance.
The results
suggest that implementing both reading assessment tasks (i.e., text reading and response tasks)
in the same medium – the
computer – leads to additional cognitive costs.
It has an effect when reading through a linear narrative and expository narrative texts on a
computer screen. It leads to poor reading comprehension than reading the same text on paper.
If texts are longer than a page, readers scroll over and over. The capacity of their reading
comprehension affect cause of the aid of memory through digital text which is the reader go
through the computer screen. It might challenge the reader's mental ability by reconstructing
the text they are reading while they scroll and read. According to A. Mangen, B.R. Walgermo, K.
Brønnick (2013) there are several possible explanations why, in the present study, subjects in
the print condition scored significantly
higher on comprehension tests than those in the screen condition. Considering the length of the
stimulus text, and the
fact that the computer condition text was in PDF format, the difference in comprehension
performance between the print
and the computer group could be related to issues of navigation within the document. When
reading on screen, scrolling is
inevitable unless the text is within the screen size. Scrolling is known to hamper the process of
reading, by imposing a spatial
instability which may negatively affect the readers mental representation of the text and, by
implication, comprehension
(Baccino, 2004; Eklundh, 1992; Piolat, Roussey, &Thunin, 1997)

[5]In the study of E.Papatga and A. Ersoy (2016) according to the results obtained from the
identification forms for developmental level in
reading comprehension administered to the students in the actual implementation, the
students' reading comprehension scores and percentages increased in all of the forms. At
the end of the implementation, it was found that the students' reading levels increased
from "anxiety level"to "instructional level"in some forms, and to "independent reading
level"in other forms. Based on the analyses of the qualitative data such as observations,
diaries, video recordings and interviews, results regarding the improvement in the
students' reading comprehension skills were also revealed. In short, as a result of the
analyses of the quantitative and qualitative data, there was an improvement in the reading
comprehension skills of all of the participants.
The researchers set the difficulty levels of the texts used throughout the research process
as easy, moderate and difficult. Although the students were selected based on the texts
with moderate difficulty at the beginning of the process, texts with easy, moderate and
difficult level were used during the research process. In spite of the difficult texts at the
end of the implementation, it was found that the students' reading comprehension scores
and percentages increased. The fact that the students' reading comprehension scores and
percentages showed an increase although the difficulty levels of the texts stepped up
indicates that the implementation was successful.
Throughout the research process, the students involved in pre-reading (e.g. working on a
key word, guessing the content of a text), during-reading (e.g. forming questions,
answering questions) and post-reading activities (summarising, stating the main idea and
the topic). Besides, it was aimed to enable the students to use the reading comprehension
strategies by the researchers. Through these activities, it was thought that the students'
reading comprehension skills would be improved. However, it should be noted that the
Scratch program made these activities possible.
There are different studies that reported similar results. Studies have also been
encountered that examined the effect of using technology on reading comprehension.
Berktaş-Türkmen (2001) investigated the effect of using technology in education on
reading comprehension. The study found that the students were more successful in the
reading comprehension activities conducted by using technology. Doty (1999) compared
reading comprehension activities that used story books prepared in the electronic
environment and those in printed materials, and reported that the reading comprehension
activities in the electronic environment were more effective. Thooft (2011) found that
audio books had a positive effect on reading comprehension. Brown (2006) concluded that
computer-aided reading comprehension activities develop students reading
comprehension skills. These results seem to overlap with those revealed in the current
study.
Pearman (2008) examined how story books in the computer environment and those in
printed materials affected reading comprehension. The reading comprehension activities
conducted with the story books in the computer environment were found to be more
effective. Similarly, in a study investigating the effect of online story books on reading
comprehension, Ciampa (2012) demonstrated that online story books developed reading
comprehension skills. Aydemir-İleri, Öztürk and Horzum (2013) focused on reading
comprehension levels in reading on a screen and reading from a printed material, and
found that comprehension was better in screen reading. It can be stated that the results of
these studies are consistent with those of the current study.
Yaman and Dağtaş (2013) investigated whether reading on a screen and from a printed
material affected reading comprehension. As a result, they concluded that neither of these
modes affected reading comprehension. Ertem and Özen (2014) examined the difference
of reading comprehension in screen reading and reading from a printed material, and
revealed that reading from a printed material yielded better comprehension. Başbuğ and
Keskin (2012) focused on how comprehension was affected in screen reading and reading
from a printed material, and found that comprehension was better in reading from a
printed material. Here, the results of these studies do not overlap with those reported in
the current study.
In brief, it was seen that all of the students' reading comprehension skills developed
thanks to the reading comprehension activities conducted through the Scratch program.
Based on these results, it can be stated that this program can be used in reading
comprehension activities at elementary school level.
In addition to prior topic knowledge, theoretical models of reading specify inferential processes
as integral for reading comprehension as such, students with low verbal and nonverbal
reasoning skills are more likely to have comprehension difficulties . Nonverbal reasoning has
been shown to have direct and indirect effects on reading comprehension, it has also been
shown to support young at-risk readers' development of comprehension skills.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

The framework of the study was anchored on the Schema theory is an explanation of how
readers use prior knowledge to comprehend and learn from text (Rumelhart, 1980). The term
"schema"was first used in psychology by Barlett as "an active organization of past reactions or
experiences"(1932,p.201), later schema was introduced in reading by Rumelhalt (1980), Carrell
(1981) and Hudson (1982) when discussing the important role of background knowledge in
reading comprehension (all cited in An, 2013). The fundamental principle of the schema theory
assumes that written text does not carry meaning by itself. Rather, a text only provides
directions for readers as to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own
previously acquired knowledge (An, 2013).
According to schema theory, comprehending a text is an interactive process between the
readers background knowledge and the text. Efficient comprehension requires the ability to
relate the textual material to one's own knowledge. As Anderson (1977, p.369) point out, "every
act of comprehension involves ones knowledge of the world as well". Reading comprehension
operates in two directions, from the bottom up to the top and from the top down to the bottom
of the hierarchy. Bottom-up processing is activated by specific data from the text, while top-
down processing starts with general to confirm these predictions. These two kinds of processing
are occurring simultaneously and interactively, which adds to the concept of interaction or
comprehension between bottom-up and top-down processes (Carrell and Eiserhold, 1983. Cited
in An, 2013).
In short schema theory as a
learning theory that asserts language
comprehension involves an interactive
process between the learners background
knowledge and the text. In an interactive
processing, the reader uses top-down
processing when he relates what he
already knows to the text being processed,
and uses bottom-up processing when he
relates the text being processed to what he
already knows.
In addition, Rumelhart (1980) indicates that a schema is a Data structure for representing the
generic concepts stored in memory. It contains a network of interrelations that is believed to
hold among the constituents of the concept of question. Indeed, schemata are active processes,
complex, interacting.
Cognitive Theory of Learning sees second language acquisition as a conscious and reasoned
thinking process involving the deliberate use of learning strategies which are special waste
processing information that enhance comprehension learning or extension of information
metacognitive components address identifying goals and constructing strategies to accomplish
goals. Thus, this theory provides teacher guidance on classroom activities that would help
students not only extend and refine their knowledge of the subject but also use their
knowledge in meaningful ways; this theory also specifies that while these activities occur, the
teacher should interact with his/her students to enhance their use of higher-level mental
disposition.

Conceptual Framework

Conceptual Model showing The Levels of Reading Comprehension among selected HUMSS
students.
The Comb's Model shows the Input, Process and Output of the study. In the Input, it consists of
the RespondentsLevel of Reading Comprehension, their Profile, such as: Gender, Age, Language
used, Reading competency, Cognition. It also includes the theories used to support the study
such as: Rumelharts Schema Theory of Comprehension.
The Process consists of the different methodology and procedures use for this study. It includes
the Check-list Questionnaires, Statistical Treatment, and Interpretation and Analysis of Data.
The Output consists of the possible outcomes and recommendations such as: To determine the
Level of Reading Comprehension among selected HUMSS students of ICCT Colleges Inc. Taytay
Campus Academic Year 2019-2020 and to generate a program that will enhance the reading
comprehension of the students.

Statement of problem
The purpose of this study is to know the levels of reading comprehension among selected
HUMSS students of ICCT Colleges Inc. Taytay Campus
This study primarily aims to answer the following questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1 Gender and
1.2 age
2. What is the level of reading comprehension of the respondents in terms of:
2.1 Language used;
2.2 Reading competency
2.3 Cognition
3. Is there any significance relationship between the levels of reading comprehension of the
respondents in terms of their profile?
Hypothesis
This study tested the null hypothesis that there is no significant relationship between the levels
of reading comprehension and on the profile of respondents
Scope and Delimitation
This study aimed to determine the levels of reading comprehension among HUMSS students.
This research aims to provide heightened awareness about the importance of reading
comprehension to the respondents. This research also include solutions and suggestions to
improve the reading comprehension of students.
To determine the levels of reading comprehension of the respondents, the researcher prepared
a questionnaire with short academic text that the respondents need to comprehend to be able
to answer the corresponding questions. The researcher also hosted a seminar to create
awareness to the students about the importance of reading comprehension. The content of the
seminar included strategies and techniques that will help improve students' reading
comprehension.
This study is limited only to the selected 170 HUMSS students of ICCT Colleges Taytay Campus.
The personal information needed for this study is age and gender.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The results of the study will be of great benefit to following:
For the Students:
For the students to be aware about the importance of reading, its different stages, and
development. This study will help them develop their skills in reading after knowing their strong
and weak points that would help them be more capable in the society, may help them to seek
job be nationally and internationally competitive.
For the Instructors:
This study may help the instructors in any institutions and Universities be informed about the
different ways, techniques and methods that they should improve more in order to enhance
their potential in teaching; as a result, development on their students may have noticed.
For the Administration:
The school administration may use the findings of this study as a basis in creating
improvements for studentsreading comprehension and may apparently assist them in
sustaining plans, strategies and programs that are needed by the studentsdevelopment in
reading and are needed by the instructors to enhance their methods in teaching.
To the Government:
The findings of this study will help the government prepare certain assessments that will
develop the reading competency of the students in each school.
CHED/DepEd- The findings of this study will serve as an eye opener for the Commission on
Higher Education and Department of Education in order for them to be informed about the
development and standings of each learner in different schools and Universities, that by this,
they can create certain assessments that can help to enhance the skills and comprehension of
the students.
For the Parents:
As for the parents, this study will help them understand what their children possibly lacks, that
may also, by this, parents will be updated and will prepare certain assessments for their childs
development in reading
To the Future Researchers:
The results and findings of this study will help other researchers who are planning to conduct
comparative or the same study that will serve as their resource to come up for a successful
research study.