1

EFFECT OF 5 FINGER RETELL AND FLUENCY CHECK ON READING

COMPREHENSION OF SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PUPILS

I. Context and Rationale

English is one of the most important subjects included in the elementary education

curriculum focusing on the four communication skills -- listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Knowing these skills is vital to enable a person to effectively communicate. Indeed, reading is

one of the fundamentals in education. Pupils need practice reading in order to have access to

increasingly complex knowledge in other academic subject areas.

Reading is playing a vital role in the success of pupils in schools being one of the most

important skills in English. Indeed, it is a prerequisite of all learning area since when one

encounters difficulty in reading; he may encounter difficulties in all subject areas (Sanopao,

2016). Reading is an essential skill since much information is presented in text throughout the

world. Understanding the content of books and other printer materials and the online pages

would entail reading. In the classroom, textbooks used by the learners involve advanced

vocabulary with vast number of topics, use direct language which will not even engage the

reader. These textbooks lack the structure that promotes reading comprehension (Cimmiyotti,

2013). Low reading skills affect reading comprehension of pupils.

Furthermore, reading comprehension is a complex task that includes many levels of

processing of English as Second Language (ESL). It involves decoding unfamiliar words

encountered in text (Sanopao, 2016). Comprehension is the ultimate aim of reading and failures

in comprehension can lead to school failures. Being a complex process, it includes both the

reader and the text. Comprehension involves inference, contextual knowledge of vocabulary to
 2

interact with the text. Comprehension is an important element during all states of literacy

development.

Moreover, the country has supposedly high literacy rate of 88.6 %, however, still, many

Filipinos can barely read and write (Cruz, 2007, cited in Selangan, 2015). It may be the reason

why the country is uncompetitive in the work economy and many people are experiencing

poverty. Likewise, according to the study conducted by of the National Statistics Office (NSO), it

was found out that about one in 10 of the population 10 to 64 years old cannot read and write or

basically illiterate. With this, low-level literacy would mean poor reading skill.

The difficulty of reading may be traced to anxiety and developing a feeling of fear. The

pupil associate the reading and negative emotions. Anxiety evolves also due to the social

surrounding of the child. The environment crates negative emotions which will later turn to

phobia. The child’s reading anxiety can be traced also to the child himself and the reading

material he reads. The Mathemagenic Theory of reading proposed by Rothkopf (1982), reading

is stimulated by the attached aids as directions to the pupils. There are elements in the text

helping the reading understand the information conveyed (Alico & Guimba, 2012). Further, there

are various causes for poor reading comprehension. It includes the complex process of learning

to read, the type of instruction, method for decoding, prior knowledge, a diverse population, and

development of vocabulary (Kopel, et. al, 2013).

Indeed, every educator wants their learners to succeed in all areas of their life through

literacy. It can be attain if they know how to read and comprehend to become globally

competitive. The challenge is with the educators to give the learners a chance to succeed. In

order to become literate, all children must increase their comprehension. Learners comprehend

at varying rates and entails guidance. For learners who are encountering difficulties in reading,
 3

the school should formulate remedial reading program to help these learners. Teaching

struggling readers to read entails time and patience of many teachers. When pupils get off to a

poor start in reading, these learners rarely catch up with the lesson.

There had been many strategies employed to help struggling readers to comprehend but is

a combination of practices that has shown to be most effective (Erickson, 2013). While some

pupils learn best one way, some pupils also need to learn varying learning styles. It gives

opportunities to the learners to have a chance to do the same thing multiple times in numerous

ways. Pupils will learn more if they are involved in reading, writing, speaking and listening.

In the local context, Severo L. Castulo Elementary School in San Quintin, Pangasinan

has problems with learners who have reading comprehension problems. Despite various

strategies employed by the teachers, the results of the examinations given to the pupils give

undesirable results in terms of reading comprehension. The result of the quarterly assessment

concerning reading comprehension reveals that the pupil’s performance is below the 75%

passing rate. Indeed, the result of the initial oral-reading test conducted on July 17, 2017

reveals that there are ______ pupils who are identified as "Frustrated" readers or about __% of

the whole Grade school pupil population. Students who struggled reading will surely develop

difficulty in comprehending or understanding what he is reading. After analyzing the result, the

teachers in English together with the researcher planned of a reading remediation to those

learners tagged to the Frustration level.

It is in this context that the researcher conceives the idea of formulating a research study

on the effect of remediation strategies on the reading comprehension strategies of the pupils of

Severo L. Castulo Elementary School in San Quintin, Pangasinan.

 4

II. Action Research Questions

a. General Question/Problem

This study aims to determine the effect of 5 finger retell and fluency check on the

reading comprehension of pupils of Severo L. Castulo Elementary School, San Quintin,

Pangasinan.

Specifically it seeks answers to the following questions:

1. To what extent is the effect of the 5 finger retell and fluency check on the reading

comprehension of the control group and experimental group in terms of:

a. pre-test scores; and

b. post-test scores?

2. Is there a significant difference in the reading comprehension of the control group and

experimental group in terms of

pretest and posttest scores?

III. Proposed Innovation, Intervention and Strategy

Increasing reading comprehension is a necessary skill in improving general reading skills of

learners. To address this problem of pupils of Severo L. Castulo Elementary School in San

Quintin, Pangasinan, the researcher thought of employing the 5 finger retell strategy and fluency

check.

Five Finger Retell is a visual based strategy designed to helped pupils in retelling a

story. It serves a helpful reminder for pupils whenever asked to retell a story. The learners will

repeat the story by their own words. It helps the pupils understand the components of retell. It

helps the pupils summarize the story by organizing the setting, characters, problem, events and

solution or ending (Kopel, et. al, 2013). The teacher shall demonstrate this many times to the

learners before asking pupils to do this independently.

 5

It can be done orally or written by which pupils can make connections to things they

know and understand. Indeed, making connections to their schema or the things they know and

understand is important for comprehension.

Each finger represents the components of the story. The middle of the hand represents

the heart of the text or the lesson the teachers wants to figure out. The thumb represents the

setting of the story. The point finger represents the characters. The middle finger and the ring

finger represent the problem and the events respectively. Ask the pupils to tell all the events

they can remember. Lastly, the fifth finger will represent the solution or ending of the story. (See

attached annex for the 5 finger retell template).

Meanwhile, the second strategy is the fluency check. Fluency refers to the ability to

recognize words easily, read with automaticity and accuracy in order to better understand what

is read. Children acquire fluency by practicing reading until the process becomes automatic.

The accuracy check involves measuring the following components expression and volume,

pacing, smoothness and phrasing. Each component has four indicators. (See attached annex

for the fluency check.).

IV. Action Research Methods

a. Participants and/or other sources of Data and Information

Elementary pupils of Severo L. Castulo Elementary School, San Quintin, Pangasinan during

the S.Y. 2017-2018 will be the subjects of the study. This will include the grade 4-6 pupils of the

said school. Pupils will be distributed into two groups using stratified random sampling. The

control group will be taught using the conventional way of teaching. On the other hand, the

experimental group will be taught using the above-mentioned reading strategies. Each group is

composed of 50 pupils.
 6

Table 1 shows the distribution of the subjects of the study.

b. Data Gathering Methods

In order to collect the data that help achieve the aim of the research, the researcher will

employ the following tools:

Pretest and Posttest

A 10-item multiple choice tests on reading comprehension will be constructed by the

researcher for the pretest and posttest. Prior to the formal learning activity, a pretest will be

administered to assess knowledge. The pupils’ responses to the pretest will be carefully

checked, recorded and tabulated to determine the weaknesses of the pupils. Likewise, a

personal interview with co-teachers will be undertaken by the researcher regarding pupils’

attitude in the classroom.

The experimental group will be taught using the reading strategies and the control group

will be taught through the traditional method which focuses on the explicit knowledge. The

researcher will further interview the learners orally to understand the development and progress

in their process of learning. The reading session will be carried run on the initiative of the

English language teacher during the English lesson itself. Classes will be conducted during their

free hour/s in with proper coordination with the adviser and subject teacher. The remediation will

run in ten weeks in which the two strategies will be carried alternatively, that is the first week

will entail the use of 5 finger retell strategy and the next week would employ the fluency check.

After the learning activity, a posttest (parallel to the pretest) will be administered.

5 Finger Retell and Fluency Check Worksheet

 7

The 5 finger retell and fluency worksheets will be used in this study to record the

development of the pupils as the intervention is being conducted. The worksheets are attached

as appendix herein.

c. Data Analysis Plan

In order to come up with valid and reliable results, appropriate statistical tool will be

used. The Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) will be used for statistical analysis,

and the 0.05 level (p<0.05) will be used to determine significant differences for all results.

Paired-sample t-test will be used to determine the significant difference in the reading

comprehension of the control group and experimental group of pupils in terms of pre-test scores

and post-test scores.

Likewise, One way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) will be used to determine if there is

significant difference on the reading comprehension of the control group and the experimental

group.

V. Action Research Work Plan and Timelines

August September October November December January

Activity Duration
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1. Write the
action
research
proposal. One
Secure month
permit from
the school
and
 8

division
offices.

2. Prepare
and
administer One
the pre-test week
to the
pupils.
3. Analyze
and
Two
interpret
weeks
the pretest
results.
4. Conduct
of the Ten
intervention weeks
program.
5. Prepare
and
administer One
the post- week
test to the
pupils.
6. Analyze
and
Two
interpret
week
the posttest
results.
7. Write the
final
Three
manuscript
weeks
for
submission
VI. Cost Estimate

In the implementation of the research, the researcher will allocate the following expense

items as specified in the table below:

Particulars Cost

Reproduction of the worksheets (5 finger P3,000

retell, fluency check, activity sheets)

 9

Production/printing of the manuscript P500

Reproduction of the Pre-test and Post-test P500

Exam
Statistical Test P2,000

Total P6,000

VII. Plan for Dissemination and Utilization

The results of this study would be a basis in the formulation of in-service training for

teachers and presentation during the LAC session. The action plan developed by the researcher

is presented on page 11. This shows how the results will be utilized.

VIII. References

Alico, J. & W. Guimba. (2012). Reading anxiety and comprehension of grade 8 Filipino learners.
International Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences Special Volume, pp. 44-59,

Calmorin, J.et. al.(2007). Research Methods and Thesis Writing, 2nd Edition. Quezon City: Rex
Book Store

Cimmiyotti, C. (2013). Impact of reading ability on academic performance at the primary level.
Master's Theses and
Capstone Projects. 127. http://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/127

Erickson, M. (2013). The effect of intensive reading intervention on California state testing
scores in a small rural middle
school. Master's Theses and Capstone Projects. 174.
http://scholar.dominican.edu/masters-theses/174

Kopel, K. et. al (2013). Effects of reading strategies in comprehension for elementary age
learners. Masters of Arts in
Education Action Research Papers. Paper 2.

Selangan (2015). The Reading Profile of Children in the Philippines. Retrieved

from http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/reading-profile-children-philippines.

Sanopao, J. (2016). The effect of reading fluency and comprehension remediation in learning
English as second language
(ESL). International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research Vol. 4, Issue 1,
pp: (422-426) 2016
 10

Appendix A

5 Finger Retell Worksheet

 11

Appendix B
Fluency Sheet
Name of reader: ______________________________

A. Expression and volume: SCORE

Reader is reading passage with feeling, paying attention to
punctuation mark. Reader is also reading loud enough for the
audience to hear and with correct emotion.
1. No expression with a quiet voice.
2. Some expression with a quiet voice.
3. Some expression with an appropriate volume.
4. Appropriate Expression and volume
B. Pace
Reading is reading at appropriate speed.
1. Slow and hard to follow.
2. Slow.
3. Mixture of slow and fast reading.
4. Consistent speed and easy to follow.
C. Smoothness
Reader is reading smoothly with little hesitation.
1. Frequent pausing, sounding out words or repeating words.
2. Several pauses and hesitations causing the passage to sound
broken.
3. Occasional breaks in reading due to difficult words.
4. Smooth reading with some breaks that are quickly corrected.
D. Phrasing
Reader is reading at an appropriate phrasing.
1. Monotone, no phrases.
2. Choppy, ignores commas and punctuation.
3. Some choppiness, pauses for breath mid-sentence.
4. Well-phrased in correct units with correct stress.
TOTAL SCORE
 12

Appendix C

Pre-test

Read the story and answer the questions that follow.

It’s All Clear Now

By Jean Lawler

It all started at the beginning of fifth grade. At first, Carmen wasn’t really sure what was
happening. In class, she had to squint to see the blackboard clearly. She had to do the same
thing when she read street signs, or when she watched a movie. As the fuzziness got worse,
she became more and more worried. It was important for her to see the notes and homework
assignments the teacher put on the board.

It wasn’t long before Carmen found herself squinting all the time, but she didn’t want anyone to
know that she was having a problem seeing. In class, she asked for a desk that was closer to
the blackboard. One day, her teacher said, "Carmen, are you all right? I’ve noticed you
squinting a lot. Are you having trouble seeing the board?"

Carmen shook her head. "I’m fine, Mrs. Cruz," she said, but she knew she couldn’t pretend
much longer.

At home, she had to sit closer and closer to the television in order to see the picture. Her mother
noticed her squinting as she watched her favorite shows, and she began to get suspicious.

"Tomorrow I’m calling the eye doctor to set up an appointment for you," she said firmly. Carmen
protested, but her mother’s mind was made up.

Three days later, Carmen had new glasses and instructions from her doctor to wear them all the
time. Carmen frowned in the car the whole way home.

"All of the kids at school will think I’m a nerd," she said. Her mother smiled and shook her head.

"You look just as beautiful with those glasses on as you do without them," she said. But Carmen
didn’t believe her.

The next day, Carmen kept the glasses in her pocket as she walked into the schoolyard. She
avoided her friends and stood alone, feeling miserable.

Suddenly, she heard her friend Theresa shout.

Carmen ran over to the other girls. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

"My silver ring is gone!" Theresa cried. "My sister sent it to me from California. It’s very special
and I can’t lose it!"
 13

Carmen could tell that Theresa was very upset. They all looked for the ring in the grassy area of
the playground.

Carmen realized that she could search better if she could see better. She took the glasses out
of her pocket and put them on. The objects and people around her came into sharp focus. She
caught her breath. Everything looked so different! So clear! She looked down at the ground and
a glimmer of silver caught her eye. It was the ring.

"Here it is," she shouted. "I’ve found it!" She handed it to Theresa, and Theresa slipped the ring
back on her finger.

"Thanks Carmen," she said. "I never thought we'd find it." She paused. "Hey, I didn’t know you
wore glasses. They look great!"

Carmen had forgotten that she was wearing the new glasses. "Thanks," she replied shyly.
As they walked back toward the school building, two more girls from her class complimented her
glasses. Carmen smiled. "Maybe wearing glasses won’t be so bad after all," she thought.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------

Questions:

1. Who is the main character of the story?

a. Carmen c. Mrs. Cruz
b. Theresa d. Alain

2. What was sent by her sister from California?

a. Ring c. flower
b. Dress d. shoes

3. The main character is in what grade?

a. 3rd c. 5th
b. 4th d. 6th

4. BEFORE Carmen got glasses she

a. thought having glasses wouldn’t be so bad. C. found Theresa’s missing
ring.
b. wasn’t able to see the blackboard clearly. D. sat far away from the
television.
5. Based on the end of the story, what do you think Carmen will do next?
a. She won’t tell her friends that she needs to wear glasses.
b. She will keep her glasses in her pocket where no one can see them.
c. She will wear her glasses all the time.
d. She will wear her glasses only when she is with her family.
 14

6. Read this sentence from the story. Her mother noticed her squinting as she watched her
favorite shows, and she began to get suspicious.
What is an antonym for the word suspicious?
a. Doubtful c. innocent
b. Guilty d. trusting

7. Which statement BEST describes Carmen?

a. She is willing to overcome her fears in order to help her friends.
b. She doesn’t care how well she does in school.
c. She cares more about herself than her friends.
d. She doesn’t worry about what other people think of her.

8. Read this sentence from the story.

In class, she had to squint to see the blackboard clearly.
What does squint mean?
a. to look with eyes partly closed c. to try hard
b. to move closer d. to concentrate

9. The author’s purpose in writing this story is to

a. explain how important it is to take care of your eyes at school.
b. show that sometimes we imagine things will be worse then they are.
c. describe what it feels like to have to squint.
d. warn people not to wear valuable jewelry to school.

10. The setting of the story is

a. House c. playground
b. School d. church
 15

Appendix D

Post-testRead the story and answer the questions that follow.

The Mystery of the Maya

The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in
the 1500s. The Maya were an intelligent, culturally rich people whose achievements were many. They
had farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature
and the world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that
time, because they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding. Knowledge about
tools and farming, for instance, made their work easier and more productive.

In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields
of corn, beans, and other crops around it. To clear the land for farms, the Maya cut down trees with
stone axes. They planted seeds by digging holes in the ground with pointed sticks. A farmer was able to
grow crops that produced food for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were
cloth makers, builders, or priests.

The Maya believed in many gods, including rain gods, sun gods, and corn gods. The people built large
temples to honor the Mayan gods. Skillful workers built cities around these temples. It was difficult for
them to construct these cities, because they had no horses to carry the heavy stone they used to build
with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves. Today, many of these ancient Mayan
cities and temples are still standing.

Although the cities that the Maya built were beautiful, and the people worked hard to build them, very
few of the people lived in them. Usually, only the priests lived in the cities.

The other people lived in small villages in the forests. Their houses were much simpler than the
elaborate structures in the cities. They lived in small huts with no windows. The walls were made of
poles covered with dried mud, and the roof was made of grass or leaves. Most Maya lived a simple life
close to nature.

Measuring time was important to the Maya, so they developed a system for measuring it accurately.
Farmers needed to know when to plant and harvest their crops. Mayan priests made a system to keep
track of time. They wrote numbers as dots (...) and bars (-). A dot was one and a bar was five.

The Mayan priests studied the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. They made a calendar from what they
learned. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan
calendar was far more accurate than the European calendars of the time.

Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why
this happened. They may have died from an infectious disease. They may have left because the soil
could no longer grow crops. Archaeologists are still trying to find the lost secrets of the Maya. They are
still one of our greatest mysteries.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------
 16

Questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?

a. Mayan c. Mexican
b. Spanish d. farmer
2. The Spanish arrived in _____.
a. 1300 c. 1500
b. 1400 d. 1600
3. Where do the story happen?
a. Mexico c. America
b. Spain d. Brazil

4. Read this sentence from the story. The Maya were an intelligent, culturally rich
people whose achievements were many.
What is a synonym for the word achievements?
a. Mistakes c. skills
b. Success d. roads
5. The Maya lived in Mexico
a. only after the Spanish arrived. c. only for a few years.
b. thousands of years before the Spanish. d. at the same time as the
Spanish.
6. Many Mayan cities and temples are still standing today because
a. they were so well built. c. they have been rebuilt.
b. there is never any bad weather in mexico. d. they are not very old.

7. What is the main idea of this article?

a. The Mayan calendar was more accurate than the European calendar.
b. The Maya were excellent farmers.
c. The Maya were a culturally rich, advanced society.
d. The Mayan cities were difficult to build.
8. MOST Maya lived
a. in beautiful cities. c. caves
b. in huts made of poles, mud, and leaves. d. stone temples
c. In stone temples
9. Read this sentence from the story.
Their houses were much simpler than the elaborate structures in the city. What
does elaborate mean?
a. Small c. fancy
b. Plain d. old
10. Who studied the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets?
a. Farmer c. cloth maker
b. Priest d. builder
 17

-------------------------------------------------------END---------------------------------------------
---------------

Department of Education
Region I
Pangasinan Division II
 18

San Quintin District

SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
San Quintin, Pangasinan

August 25 , 2017

ATTY. DONATO D. BALDERAS, JR.

Schools Division Superintendent
Division of Pangasinan II
Binalonan, Pangasinan

Sir:

I have the honor to request permission from your good office to conduct An
Action/Basic Research entitled “EFFECT OF 5 FINGER RETELL AND FLUENCY
CHECK ONREADING COMPREHENSION OF SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL PUPILS” for your approval.

Your favorable action regarding this request is highly appreciated.

Respectfully yours,

JOCELYN M. MAGANA
MT-I/OIC, Office of the Principal
 19

RESEARCH PROPOSAL APPLICATION FORM AND ENDORSEMENT OF

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR

A. RESEARCH INFORMATION
 20

RESEARCH TITLE:
EFFECT OF 5 FINGER RETELL AND FLUENCY CHECK ON
READING COMPREHENSION OF SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL PUPILS

SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE RESEARCH:

This study aims to determine the effect of employing 5 finer retell and fluency checklist in enhancing
the reading comprehension of elementary school pupils.

RESEARCH CATEGORY (Check only one) RESEARCH AGENDA CATEGORY

o National (check only one main research theme)
o Region o Teaching and Learning
o Schools Division o Child Protection
o District o Human Resource Development
o School o Governance
(check up to one cross cutting theme, if
(check only one) applicable)
o Action Research o DRRM
o Basic Research o Gender and Development
o Inclusive Education

o Others (please specify): _________

FUND SOURCE (e.g. BERF, SEF, others) AMOUNT

Personal Fund

B. PROPONENT INFORMATION
LEAD PROPONENT / INDIVIDUAL PROPONENT

LAST NAME: FIRST NAME: MIDDLE NAME:

MAGANA JOCELYN MENIANO

BIRTHDATE (MM/DD/YYYYY) SEX: POSITION/DESIGNATION:

NOVEMBER 05, 1975 FEMALE OIC,OFFICE OF THE PRINCIPAL

REGION/DIVISION/SCHOOL (whichever is applicable)

Region 1 / PANGASINAN II / SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

 21

CONTACT NUMBER 1: CONTACT NUMBER 2: CONTACT NUMBER 3:

09092891232
EDUCATIONAL TITLE OF THESIS/RELATED RESEARCH PROJECT
ATTAINMENT
(DEGREE/TITLE)
Enumerate from bachelor’s
degree up to doctorate
degree
BACHELOR OF
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
MASTER OF ARTS IN
EDUCATION (Acad, Req.)

SIGNATURE OF PROPONENT:

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR’S CONFORME

I hereby endorse the attached research proposal. I certify that the proponent has the capacity to
implement a research study without compromising his office functions.

DOMINGA C. MERCADO, ED. D.

Name and Signature of Immediate Supervisor

Position / Designation : District Supervisor

Date: _________________

EFFECT OF 5 FINGER RETELL AND FLUENCY CHECK ON

READING COMPREHENSION OF SEVERO L. CASTULO ELEMENTARY

 22

SCHOOL PUPILS

An Action Research

by:

JOCELYN M. MAGANA

Severo L. Castulo Elementary School

San Quintin, Pangasinan

SY 2017-2018
23