英文摘要 |
This study is an action research on reading comprehension instruction; the participants were engaged in a ‘children’s book club’. The book club consisted of 7 academically disadvantaged reading underachievers who were entering the fourth-grade as the study started. They were among the low achievers identified by their third-grade class teacher, and were further selected based on their scores in the “Vocabulary Size Test” (Chinese characters test) and “Elementary School Fourth-grade Reading Comprehension Test (A)”. Reading materials from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) were also used to help identify the reading underachievers. After the members of the book club went through this action research, which was divided into two stages over a period of six months, they took the “Elementary School Fourth-grade Reading Comprehension Test (B)” as a post-test in order to see whether or not they had made any progress in their reading comprehension abilities. This study collected data through participatory observation, interviews, and document analysis; in addition, it examined the effectiveness of teaching and student learning. The research results indicated that low academic achievement is closely related to low reading comprehension ability, and that students’ learning of reading comprehension strategies is helpful toward enhancing their reading comprehension abilities. Moreover, increased effects were noticed when reading comprehension strategies worked hand in hand with reading widely. It was also noted that extensive and long term remedial instruction leads to better results. It is important to discover students’ multiple intelligence, and to develop their learning motivation and potential. According to the research results, this study provides some recommendations for school principals, teachers, and parents to promote reading education. It also offers suggestions for future research studies. |