Effectiveness of Phonics Instruction in the Beginning Reading Performance of Grades 1 & 2 Pupils: Basis for Instructional Supervision

AUTHOR(S)

BERNADETTE P. BANDALA

ABSTRACT

—— Reading is the most essential skill learned by the pupils at an early grade and at an early age. That is why key stage 1 teachers must be innovative and creative in making their lessons enjoyable and meaningful to the pupils. Teachers must be versatile in shifting and integrating different teaching strategies and methods in teaching beginning reading. They must be creative in using learning resources which will capture the interest of the pupils to learn. Thus, this study was formulated to evaluate the effectiveness of phonics instruction in the beginning reading performance of the Grades 1 & 2 pupils and utilize the result in formulating instructional supervision plan which will assist the school administrators and mentors in providing appropriate technical assistance to the teachers. A quasi-experimental research design employing pre-test and post-test utilizing the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) as tools in evaluating the effectiveness of the intervention. Simple percentage and t-test of mean difference were the statistical tools used to interpret the result of the study. The study revealed a significant difference in the performances of Grades 1 & 2 pupils before and after the integration of phonics instruction. The proper articulation of the sounds of the letters, appropriate strategy in blending to form a word and the varied and differentiated learning materials used, and the change in behavior of the pupils while learning the skills, contributed to the success in teaching beginning reading to the Grades 1 & 2 pupils making it an effective intervention to improve the beginning reading performance of the pupils. Keywords — Effectiveness, Phonics Instructions, Beginning Reading Performance, Grades 1 & 2 Pupils, Instructional Supervision