2. The Importance of Reading Ability
Reading is a fundamental skill. Without this essential skill intact students will not be able to meet the demands of the greater society.
According to Scott and Shearer-Longo 2002 academic failure, specifically reading failure is a ―major predictor of larger failures‖ p.
168 including grade level retention, dropping out and juvenile delinquency Jimerson Kaufman, 2003. Students who are retained
generally share similar characteristics; most often poor reading ability is present. Other characteristics of retained students often include low socio-
economic status, learning problems, minority status, gender usually male though pregnancy is also a factor of girls, and limited English
proficiency Martin, Tobin Sugai, 2000. The similarity of characteristics minority status, economic status, etc. may indicate that
poor reading abil ity an issue of equity that must be addressed. ―Reading is
a crucial tool in the effort to build equity and excellence in society as a whole‖ Jackson Davis, 2002, p. 87. This difficulty can generally be
traced to early schooling, which is another argument to support aggressive early intervention efforts.
Student Acquisition of Reading Ability
The acquisition of reading ability is complex process. Typically, junior students learn to speak and to understand spoken
language within the first three year of junior high. This ability is the precursor learning to read English text. As age of transition they
begin to realize that what is in written text is made up of individual understanding. Early instruction, whether offered at home or in
school, begins with teaching that the clear instruction to do task. During the first year in this level, students continue to have to answer
the wh-questions from the text sharply. As the student begins to expand this knowledge, and begins to know this strategy to find the
answers from the text. Reading instruction is deliberate and complicated and blends several processes.
Based on the students‘ background, it is taught early in a student‘s understanding through direct instruction and practice. The
students able to read effectively acquires of skills simultaneously including phonological awareness, decoding, word identification and
reading comprehension McCardle, Scarborough, Catts, 2001; Shaywitz, 2003. Students must develop a sight vocabulary otherwise
they will laboriously find the information from the text. They must also build background so they have a context for what is being read.
Students on this level need to know what they are reading for. By looking at questions before they read, they are better able to
understand the text and scan for the necessary information. Marc Helgesen as citied in Richard R. Day 1993: 131 described the three
procedures for involving unmotivated students or difficulty concentrating to understand the text and scan:
1 Divide the reading in half. Post enlarge copies of first half on the front wall and the second half on the back wall.
2 Divide the class into pairs. Divide the questions and assign half to the groups. ―e.g., this group, you must answer the questions 1
through 5. The answer in thi s part of the reading.‖ point to the
copies on the front wall that group, you answer 6 through 10. The answers are in that part.‖ point to the copies on the back
wall. 3 When you tell them to start, all this group ask the first question to
their partners. The partners run to the texts posted on the front wall and scan for the answer. When they find the answer, they
run back to the first group and tell the answer. This group writes it, and then asks the next question. Half-way, through the activity,
they change roles; the next group asks while the previous one reads and runs.
3. Learning Outcome
Kategori