ENHANCING THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN WITH READING DISABILITIES THROUGH

LITERACY ACTIVITIES

By

Gladys Babudoh (Ph.D)Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences

Faculty of Education University of Jos

Jos, Nigeria.

&

Bolchit Gideon Dala (Ph.D)Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences

Faculty of Education University of Jos

Jos, Nigeria.

Abstract

Literacy is a survival skill which prepares the individual for life because all academic work starts with literacy. Children who are found to be deficient in literacy skills therefore, are often seen to perform academically below the expectations for their age and grade level. This paper gives a report of an intervention for five primary 4 pupils with literacy problem who could not recognize many words even in their primary one reading textbooks and could not even write their own names without guidance. These pupils were consequently taking the last position in class in their various schools. This study adopted the single-subject research design and data was collected using the Umolu Informal Reading inventory. The pupils were exposed to 24weeks of intensive literacy activities which included language experience and literacy awareness exercises, storytelling, retellings, dramatization, as well as reading and writing exercises. The data collected were analyzed using simple percentages. The study revealed that the intervention had a positive impact on the pupils because their academic performance improved tremendously after the treatment.

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Background of the Study

Literacy in broad terms refers to the ability of an individual to read and write. Reading is a receptive language process which entails the making of meaning from print. According Applebee (2000), reading is the key to literacy which entails a progression of skills that begin with the ability to understand spoken words (phonology). Other aspects of reading which is used in writing include the ability to understand the pattern of word meaning (semantics), spelling patterns (orthography), and the ability to understand the nature of the grammar (syntax) of the language used. When these rudiments of reading are adequately acquired, the individual would be enhanced to approach printed materials with case as well as be able to write accurately and coherently.

In the same vein Applebee (2000) described writing as a reflection of an individual’s speaking and thinking habits put down to be read and understood by others. Writing is a craft which needs to be learned and practical. It entails the understanding that writing is communication of messages which have to be understood by the readers. It is the opinion of Oyetnde (2009) that the evidence of reading is the ability to answer questions on what has been read, the ability to explain the content of what was read in one’s own words, ad the ability to precisely or in detail retell what one just read. This implies that all academic work start with literacy hence children found to be deficient in literacy skills often lag behind in academic performance.

Reading disabilities simply put, is a condition in which an individual displays difficulty reading and comprehending texts. The National institute of Neurological Disorders and stroke (2016) defines reading disability as a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs an individual’s ability to read where the individual typically reads at a level significantly lower than expected for his/her age and class level despite having a normal intelligence. The children with reading disabilities therefore are children who display difficulty in reading and comprehending texts.

Their reading is characterized by frequent starts, stops and mispronunciations opined Drummond (2016), and comprehension of the material being read is usually extremely poor. This is the situation of the children in this study. The five children who were in primary 4 could hardly recognize words even in their primary one reading texts. This situation so annoyed their parents that they pleaded with the different school authorities to move the children to primary two. The children were demoralized but they obeyed the instruction of their parents so they moved to primary 2 in their different schools. To the disappointment of the parents, these children still took the last position in the new class in their various schools. This agrees with the opinion of Moats (1998) who said good reading instruction is necessary for children to learn to read, and that it is not an easy task. Similarly, Lyon (2003) said, substantial research abound that without systematic, focused, and intensive interventions, the majority of children with reading disabilities rarely “catch up”. This implies that despite the demotion of the children, they could still not perform well academically because they needed to be given particular attention to learn to read in order to read to learn.

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Researchers are aware that an alarming high percentage of primary school children are not learning to read, and a lot more do not know how to read to learn. Hence many teaching strategies for beginning/struggling reading have been invented and adopted by many teachers. These strategies include literacy awareness program, News on the board, Language experience approach, look and say, the visual method, the visual-motor method, e.t.c. Each of these strategies is meant to remedy specific aspects of reading difficulties of children. Because children learn differently and at different rates, not all children develop reading skills in the same way or at the same rate. Hence, Drummond (2016) advised that children should not be allowed to get too far behind in learning how to read, otherwise, it becomes problematic, as it is with the children in the present study. In such a situation the teacher may have to apply a combination of many strategies, and involve the children in diverse activities such as listening, talking, reading, writing, and dramatizing.

It is against this background that this research was carried out with those children who were found to be academically background because they were behind in learning hot read. The purpose of this study was therefore, to determine the extent to which a combination of literacy activities would enhance the academic performance of the children with reading disabilities

The researcher sought to answer the following research questions.1. What was the word recognition scores of the children before and after treatment?2. What were the comprehension scores of the children before and after treatment?3. What was the functional reading level of the children before treatment? 4. To what extent did the continuous writing performance of the children improve after

treatment?5. To what extent will the general academic performance of the children improve after

treatment?

Method

The study used the single-subject experimental research design. This research approach allows a researcher to determine how an instructional intervention affects the child in need of assistance (Neuman & McCornick 1995). According to Andzayi (2004), the purpose of single –subject experimental design is to establish the effect of an intervention on a single individual.

The variation of the single–subject design adopted for the study was the A-B-A- B design which employed a pretest, treatment an interim test (which served as a posttest), and another treatment. The data collected were analysed using the arithmetic mean and simple percentages in order to answer the research questions. The target population of this study was 48 children with reading disabilities in primary 4 from five private schools in Jebbu Bassa, Plateau State of Nigeria. One child was selected from each of the schools, therefore, the size of the sample used for the study was just 5 children who were approximately 11 years old. They were made up of 3 girls and 2 boys.

The participants were selected based on their very poor academic performance, a common emotional condition, and their demotion by two class levels. The selected children all

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exhibited self-pity due to their poor performance in class. This is to say that though they were between the ages of 10 and 11 years, and were in primary 4, they were each moved to primary 2 in their various schools on the request of their concerned parents.

The instruments used for data collection were the children’s dossier, and four assessment tests which were made up of Word Recognition Test (WRT), Umolu Informal Reading Inventory (UIRI). Formative Assessment Test (FAT) and Continuous Writing Ability Test (CWAT). The children’s dossiers were school records containing the scores of the children for three terms in English, Arithmetic and Social studies.

ProcedureThe intervention was the literacy activities (LA), which was made up of listening

activities, storytelling and re-telling, news on the board, language experience exercises, dramatization, reading re-reading and writing.

The first day of the intervention started with a group counseling session. This was necessary because the children were highly demoralized. Though present physically, they appeared absent minded as if they came there just to obey their parents. It was therefore proper to reassure the children and to build their confidence in themselves, to solicit their cooperation and encourage them to put in their best. Thereafter, they were asked to write the letters of the alphabet (upper case, then lower case). Observed areas of difficulties were quickly addressed.

Individually, they were asked to tell a short story of their families. The researchers in this write-up are referred to as the teachers. The teacher provided an example for them to follow. “My name is Gladys Gasa. My father’s name is John and my mother’s name is Bekere. I have two brothers and three sisters. We live in Jos”. Each child was then made to tell the story of his/her family for the entire group to hear. This was a speaking/listening exercise which was done repeatedly to ensure that each child remembered his/her story.

In the next stage, the teachers and the 3 assistants took a child each and sat at different corners of the room and the child were asked to tell their stories again. Using a bold marker on a news print paper, each child’s story was written verbatim on the paper. The stories were read in the different groups repeatedly. Flash cards were produced for each of the words which were eventually recognized by them and they were kept in each child’s word Bank. Each of the words was used in different sentences and only the child’s sentences were written down to be read and re-read even though the teacher always gave the lend-providing an example.

At the end of everyday’s work, each child was made to write in his/her note book the summary of what was learned. The teacher corrected each day’s work checking for wrong spellings, omissions (words and word endings), correct capitalizations (proper nouns and beginning of sentences), and punctuation (full stop at the end of each sentence). The children were then made to produce clean copies before leaving for the day. Each child’s story was enlarged as time went on by adding more information and the flash cards of the additional words were added to each child’s word bank.

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At the beginning of everyday, the children were encouraged to talk by telling the class

some news (from the home, church and/or happenings in the environment) which were written

on the board. Each child was encouraged to say something everyday. Simple stories were told

the children which were from books. To test their listening and comprehension abilities, each

child was made to re-tell each story orally and answer the comprehension questions orally as

well. Thereafter, the books were provided, the pictures were appreciated, and the initial reading

was done by the teacher. All the new/difficult words were written on the board. The meaning of

each word was taught and they each were used in sentences. Flash cards were equally produced

for each. After that, the teacher cleaned the board and pasted one flash card at a time on the

board and the children were asked to read the words and give the meaning. The children then

read the story books silently, and took turns in reading them aloud. The children also took turns

in retelling the stories and the stories were re-read before answering the comprehension

questions on each of the stories orally and in writing.

At this juncture, the teacher gave the children a cloze exercise as formative assessment

test. The results obtained revealed the areas of need of each child which were addressed

accordingly. The children were made to re-read the story and they retold it in writing as well.

Next was the dramatization of the story. The children at this stage were familiar with the story so

they were encouraged to decide on the roles each wanted to play.

The activities described in this sub-section were carried out for all the 3 story books read

during the intervention. The books read were the Talking Calabash, The Lost Girl, and Ama’s

Bowl of Food. Data collected for the research questions were analyzed using simple percentages

and the arithmetic mean.

RESULTS

Results of this study were based on the improved performance of the children in word

recognition, reading comprehension, improved writing skills, improved general performance in

their class work, and improved reading levels.

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Word Recognition Performance

Table 1a: Pre and Post Treatment Scores on Word Recognition

S/N Children Class Level of Passages on UIRI Difference TNOWL

HFW 100 Level 1 100

Level 2 100

Level 3 150

TNOW 450

Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post No. % 1 Victoria 17 65 15 78 12 35 31 06 75 244 169 37.5%

2 Happiness 35 99 31 95 25 93 20 120 117 371 254 56.4%

3 Gurum 28 97 20 90 15 80 27 112 90 373 283 62.9%

4 Magwen 20 90 14 86 11 65 13 70 58 302 244 54.2%

5 Victor 15 82 79 87 16 80 12 58 122 307 185 41.1%

KeyUIRI = Umolu Informal Reading Inventory PER = Period of Research HFW = High Frequency Words L = Primary Class Level TNOW = Total Number of Words.TNOWL = Total Number of Words Learned Table 1b: Analysis of the Words Recognized by the ChildrenS/N Children Pre-Intervention Post Intervention Difference

TNOWLTNOWR % TNOWR % N0. %

1 Victoria 75 16% 244 54.2% 169 37.5%

2 Happiness 117 26% 371 82% 254 56.4%

3 Gurum 90 90% 373 82.8% 283 62.9%

4 Magwen 58 12% 302 67.1% 244 54.2%

5 Victor 122 27.1 307 68.2% 185 41.1%

Means scores 92.4 319.4 227

KeyTNOWR = Total number of words recognizedTNOWL = Total number of words learned

Table 1 gives the summary of the performance of the children in word recognition. The areas assessed were the 100 High Frequency Words, class level 1A and 1B (100 words), class level 2A and B (100 words), class level 3A and B (150 words) Specifically, the table shows that Victoria recognized 75 words out of the 450 words contained in the assessed areas at the pre-treatment stage but recognized up to 244 words after the intervention. Similar information is provided on the table for all the children.

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The table shows that after treatment the least number of words additionally recognized by the children was 169, while 283 was the highest number of words additionally recognized. The last column (TNOWL) gives the actual gain made by each child. See Fig. ! for a diagrammatic representation.

Victoria Happiness Gurum Magwen Victor0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

75

11790

58

122

244

371 373

302 307

Pre-TreatPost-TreatGAIN

Fig 1: Summary of Word Recognition Performance of the Children

Reading Comprehension Performance

Table 3 Pre and Post Treatment Scores on Comprehension

Pre-Treatment Scores Post-Treatment ScoresS/N Children No. of

Quest. In Each Level

L1 L2 L3 L1 L2 L3

1 Victoria 8 0%(0) 0% 750%(60) 25%(2) -

2 Happiness 8 25%(4) 0% 0% 100%(80) 80%(6) 50%(4)

3 Gurum 8 50%(4) 0% 100%(80) 85%(7) 50%(4)

4 Magwen 8 0%(0) 0% 85%(70) 50%(4)

5 Victor 8 25%(2) 0% 75%(6) 25%(2)

Table 3 shows the number of comprehension questions asked in each class level (8) and the performance of each child at the various levels. The table specifically shows that Victoria could not answer any of the comprehension questions even at primary one level at the onset of the intervention. After the treatment however, the table shows that she was able to answer 6

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questions correctly out of the 8 comprehension questions in level one. She was able to also answer two questions in level two. Similarly, the table shows that Magwen who could not answer any question before the treatment was able to answer 7 out of the 8 comprehension questions in level one and 4 questions in level 2. The table also shows that Happiness and Gurum who answered only 4 questions at the pre-treatment in level, answered all the 8 questions in level one after treatment, 7 questions in level two, and 4 questions in level 3 after the intervention. The information for Victor shows that he answered only 2 question (25%) in level one at the pre-treatment stage, but was able to answer 6 question scoring 75% in level one and 25% in level 2.

The summary is that at the pre-treatment stage 2 children answered two questions and one student answered 4 of the comprehension questions out of the 24 questions for the three levels. At the post treatment stage, the least number of questions answered were 8 and the highest were 19 out of the 24 questions asked in the three class levels

Reading Levels Performance

Table 1: Reading Levels of the Children

S/N Children Word Recognition

Reading Comprehension

Functional Reading Class Level

Pre (PCL)

Post (PCL)

Pre (PCL)

Post (PCL)

Pre (PCL)

Post (PCL)

1 Victoria BP.1 P.1 BP.1 P.1 BP.1 P.12 Happiness BP.1 P.3 B.1 P.2 P.1 P.23 Gurum BP.1 P.3 P.1 P.2 P.1 P.24 Magwen BP.1 P.1 BP.1 P.1 BP.1 P.15 Victor BP.1 P.2 BP.1 P.1 BP.1 P.1

KeyPCL = Primary class level Pre = Before intervention Post = After intervention

The reading levels of the children were determined using the Umolu Informal Inventory (1985). Table 1 shows the reading level classifications of the children based on their performances in word recognition and reading comprehension as determined by the prevision of the tool used for the assessments. The table shows the actual reading competence of each child in terms of their word recognition and comprehension capabilities before and after the intervention. A level of reading was determined for each child based on his/her performance in both word recognition and comprehension. Where a child scored 75% or above in either word recognition or comprehension, or in both of them, the class for which that material (text) was meant for was regarded as the ability level of that aspect of reading for the children. Table 1 therefore shows that before treatment, all the participating children were not able to recognize words that primary one pupils were supposed to recognize. This is to say that the functional reading level for three of the children at the onset of the intervention was below primary one and only two were at primary one reading level. The table further shows that after treatment, three of the children moved to primary one reading level while two moved to primary two level, meaning they were able to conveniently read and answer questions in primary two texts.

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Interpretation of the IRI to Determine Reading LevelsThere are 3 major reading levels, namely: independence, instructional, and frustration levels. A text is said to be at a child’s independent reading level when he/she reads such text with ease, with little or no difficulty in comprehending the meaning of the content of the text.

Where a child is able to read a text but understands better when guided, such a text is said to be at the child’s instructional reading level. He would be able to recognize and comprehend about 90% of the words. On the other hand, when a child reads a passage with difficulty such that he cannot recognize up to 90% of the words nor comprehend up to 50% of the meaning of the text, such a text is said to be at the frustration level of the individual.

As the children read the passages, the researcher recorded the errors made by them on a record sheet which contained all the passages, and the comprehension questions.

The total number of errors were counted and recorded beneath each passage. Similarly, the total number of words the child recognized were recorded on the column labeled “correct”. This was further multiplied by 2 to get the percentage word recognition for the passages where only 50 words were being tested.

Because of the time limit, a tick ( √ ) or (X) was placed against the comprehension questions depending on the type of answer that was given. For instance, if the child’s answer was wrong, it was marked (X). However, the answer given for question 4 was written on the space provided.

At the end of the test on each level is the final analysis box as follows: Level Independent Instruction Frustration

a)___% Word 95+ 90+ Below 90Recognition

b)___ Comprehension 4 3 2 or less.

The researcher circled the correct percent word recognition in the box as recorded immediately after the passage. If for instance the child scored about 92%, the researcher circled 90+ = (90+). Also where the child was able to get the comprehension questions correct, the researcher circled 4 like this 4. This means that the child can or was able to read and comprehend the passage without any assistance.

On the other hand, where the child was able to answer only 2 of the questions correctly, the researcher drew a circle round 2 or less like this

2 or less which implies that the passage was at the frustration level of the child.

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Continuous Writing Performance

Table 3a Performance of the Children on Continuous Writing

Alphabet SIMPLE STORIES WRITTEN RETELLINGS

S/N Pre

U L

Post

U L

PreNo. of Words

PostNo. of Word

PreNo. of Sent

PostNo. of Sent.

PreNo. of Words

PostNo. of Words

PreNo. of Sent.

PostNo. of Sent

1 Victoria 20 19 26 26 15 68 3 9 19 90 3 92 Happiness 21 20 26 26 26 76 5 10 16 142 4 113 Gurum 22 23 26 26 28 82 5 11 21 150 4 114 Magwen 18 20 26 26 19 64 4 9 18 123 3 85 Victor 22 20 26 26 24 63 5 8 20 112 4 7

KeySent. = Sentence Pre = Before treatment Post = After treatment U = Upper case L = Lower case

Table 3b. Analysis of Continuous Writing Performance

S/NTNO Words

GainWC Spelt Wrong Spellings TN Sent.

GainName Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post

1 Victoria 34 158 124 19 150 15(44.1%) 8(5.1%) 6 18 12

2 Happiness 42 218 176 28 201 14(33.3%) 17(7.7%) 9 21 12

3 Gurum 49 232 183 32 221 17(34.6%) 11(4.7%) 9 22 13

4 Magwen 37 187 150 25 165 12(32.4%) 22(11.8%) 7 17 10

5 Victor 44 175 131 33 154 11(25%) 21(12%) 9 15 6

KeyTNO Words = Total number of wordsWC Spelt = No of words correctly speltTN Sent. = Total number of sentences

Improvement of continuous writing of the children was evaluated based on research question four. The gains achieved were gotten from the children’s performance in writing simple stories and their written retellings of stories heard and read. The specific variables measured were the number of words used in the sentences, the number of words spelt correctly, and the number of sentences used. The summary of the range of gains on the number of words used was between 124 and 183 words; the range of gains on the number of words spelt correctly was between 154 and 221; while the range of gains on the number of sentences used was between 6 and 13 sentences. This meant that the treatment had a positive impact on the continuous writing ability of the children.

Improved General Academic Performance

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Improvement of the general academic performance of the children was based on research question five. This was based on the improved evaluation of the children’s class work in their various schools. An interaction with the teachers showed that the children were participating actively in the class and they did their class work and assignments with ease. An inspection of the school records showed that two of the children came second in the last end of term examinations; one came 5th out of 21, one was 7th out of 30 and the other came 4 th out of 18 children in the class. Figures 3 and 4 show the progress report of one of the pupils (Happiness). Figure 3 shows her position as 19th out of 20 (shortly before the intervention) while figure 4 shows her position as 2nd out of 21 (shortly after the intervention).

Fig. 2 Progress Report of Happiness 1

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Fig 3: Progress Report of Happiness 2

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Discussion of Findings

The study revealed that the lowest number of words learned after the intervention was 169 and the highest was 283 words.This achievement may have resulted from the fact that many of the new words learned repeated themselves in many pages of the different stories the children were made to read. This is in line with the findings of Kukur (2011) that the retelling technique enhances children’s reading and writing skills because words which they knew their meanings but did not know how to write or spell them would be learned unconsciously as they frequently use them in the reading and retelling exercises.The study also revealed that the children made good progress in reading comprehension after the intervention. Specifically, the study revealed that two of the children were able to comprehend and answer six questions out of the eight questions asked in the level 2 reading texts. The lowest number of questions answered in class level was 2 and the highest number was7 questions in the level 3 texts.

The study further revealed that the continuous writing ability of the children were improved after the intervention. Though all the children at the onset of the intervention exercise were found to mix up the upper and lower cases of the alphabet, by the end of the exercise, they all wrote the letters of the alphabet correctly. (See Table 3a). All the children used more words and wrote more sentences in the post intervention exercises. For example a scrutiny on Table 3a shows that Gurum who used 28 words in 5 sentences in telling her simple stories at the pre-intervention stage, used 82 words in 11 sentences at the post intervention stage. Similarly, in her retellings she used 21 words in 4 sentences at the pre-intervention but wrote 150 words in 11 sentences at the post intervention stage.

Finally, the study revealed that the intervention enhanced the general academic performance of all the children. This can be seen in the drastic change in the position of the children in their end of term examinations. For example, Happiness who was consistently taking the last position or second to the last in her class (See Fig 2) began to improve gradually during the intervention exercise and by the end of the exercise she came 2nd out of 21 pupils in her class (see fig 3). All the other children similarly performed above average in their class in their various schools.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The inability of the children with reading disabilities to read and comprehend text properly was actually the root cause of their horrible general academic performance before the commencement of the intervention hence the drastic change when they had learned to read. The literacy activities described and used in this study were found to be effective because of the repeated reading, retelling, acting, discussions and writing exercises involved. For example, the story telling and repeated retellings enhanced their acquisition of new sight vocabularies which they practiced their usage in the writing expressions. Furthermore, the role-playing in the different stories were also very helpful. This was observed in the performance of the children in the cloze exercises were they performed better each time after rehearsals.

Based on the findings of this study it is recommended that parents should be patient with their children and ensure that they pay attention to the children’s academic needs early in life. They should encourage and help the children do their home assignments.

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Story telling should be encouraged both at home and in the school. Teachers should use “News on the Board” regularly and encourage the children to write them down in their notebooks. Retelling should be encouraged both at home, in the class and among the pupils. This will increase their familiarity with the use of the words in different contexts. At the teacher’s discretion, written retellings should be done in the class. At the end of each exercise, the books should be marked and the corrections pointed out to the individual children.

Finally, it is suggested that teachers should note the specific problems of each child in his/her class and address them promptly. References

Andzayi C.A. (2004) Research in second language reading using single subject experimental design. Jos: Department of special Education, University of Jos.

Applebee, A.N. (2000). Alternative models of reading development. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu.

Drummond, K.. (2016). About reading disabilities, learning disabilities, and reading difficulties. From http://www.readingrockets.org/article/about_reading_disabilities_learning-disabilities_ and_reading_difficulties.

Kukur, R. (2011). Retelling stories is a perfect way of improving your spoken English. Retrieved from www.http://englishharmony.com/retelling-stories.

Lyon, G.R. (2003). Reading disabilities: Why do some children have difficulty learning to read? What can be done about it? Retrieved June, 8th 2016 from http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/read.disability.lyon.

Moats, L.C & Farrell, M.L. (2005). Multisensory structured language education. In J.R. Birsh, (Ed.), Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (2nd Ed.), (p.23-41). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H Brookes. Baltimore: Brooks publishing.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (2016). Reading disability. Retrieved 8 th

July 2016 from http://en.wikipedia.org

Neuman, S.B., & McCornick, S. (1995). Single-subject experimental research applications for literacy. Newark, Delawe: International Reading Association.

Oyetunde T.O. (2009). Beginning reading scheme: Empowering teachers to help their pupils become good readers. Jos: LECAPS publishers.

Umolu J.J. (1985). Reading assessment in Nigerian schools. In O.U. Solomon, R.A. Omojuwa. And N.R. Ikonta (Eds), Literacy and reading in Nigeria. Vol 2, (115-131). Zaria: Institute of Education ABU, Zaria press.

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