READING STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE READING COMPREHENSION IN ELEMENTARY STUDENTS

ESTRATEGIAS DE LECTURA PARA FAVORECER LA COMPRENSIÓN LECTORA EN ALUMNOS DE PRIMARIA

Reading does not only imply the repetition of written words, it requires more complex cognitive work, where both oral and written language are used in a harmony that allows appropriation of the meaning contained in the words. The article defines a reading strategy, as well as its characteristics and the importance they have in working with students. In the same way, a strategy is described, through some activities related to reading, used in the classroom with third grade students with the intention of promoting reading and comprehension in them, which directly influences academic results. Instruments were analyzed to assess the situation of the students in terms of the level of understanding they had and thus determine why it was necessary to design strategies that would contribute to improving the situation.

Leer no implica solamente la repetición de palabras escritas requiere de un trabajo cognitivo más complejo, en donde se utiliza tanto el lenguaje oral como el escrito en una armonía que permita apropiarse del significado que encierran las palabras. En el artículo se define una estrategia de lectura, así como sus características y la importancia que éstas tienen en trabajo con los alumnos. De igual manera se describe una estrategia, mediante algunas actividades relacionadas a lectura, utilizada en el aula con estudiantes de tercer grado de primaria con la intención de favorecer en ellos la lectura y su comprensión, misma que influye directamente en los resultados académicos. Se analizaron instrumentos para valorar la situación del alumnado en cuanto al nivel de comprensión que tenían y de esa manera determinar por qué era necesario diseñar estrategias que permitieran contribuir al mejoramiento de la situación.

Teaching work involves a lot of responsibility in terms of student learning, the way in which they begin the development of basic skills such as reading and writing, which are the main basis for building a successful journey in the appropriation of knowledge (Caiminagua-Nagua & Espinoza-Freire, 2021; Castro-Ortega & Martínez-Guevara, 2022; Romero-Esteban, 2023).

However, throughout the process there are certain difficulties that make it necessary to investigate and design strategies that allow contributing elements for classroom work with the intention of improving academic performance not only in some area of knowledge, but throughout school life.

“Reading comprehension is one of the linguistic skills that allows us to interpret written speech. For this, it is necessary for the person to involve their attitude, experience and previous knowledge”. (Mexico. National Institute for the Evaluation of Education, 2019)

According to Smith (1989), three levels are distinguished in reading comprehension: literal, referring to the student's ability to explicitly understand what is said in the text; inferential, related to the student's ability to make conjectures and hypotheses about the text; critical, linked to their ability to assess the quality of a text and to be able to make reasoned judgments about it.

That is why one of the skills that require the most attention in learning processes is reading, but a comprehensive reading that serves as a foundation to appropriate other learning and function successfully on a daily basis. And it is a skill that is constantly improving through work and interaction with written materials (Ahmadi, 2012; wise et al., 2016; Garduño, 2019). One of the purposes of Primary Education mentioned in the Study Program 3° 2011 is that they are able to read, understand, use, reflect on and be interested in various types of text, in order to broaden their knowledge and achieve their personal objectives. Just as it is expected that at this level they will be able to choose study materials, they will begin to reflect to solve interpretation problems that respond to the demands of social life.

Hence, the purpose of this study is to publicize a didactic strategy proposed for classroom work with third grade primary school students, where the opportunity is given to explore different types of texts to analyze and interact with them in such a way that promote reading comprehension. In the same way, it is intended to identify the importance of the use of didactic strategies within a problem such as low reading comprehension and its influence on the academic performance of students, as well as verify their effectiveness according to the results obtained with its design and application.

The research was carried out in the community of El Aserradero, municipality of Cuautepec de Hinojosa, Hgo. with the third grade group of the “Nicolás Bravo” elementary school, with 29 students.

The type of study was experimental, since not only concepts or phenomena are described, but techniques were used to investigate, acquire new knowledge or correct and integrate previous knowledge.

To identify the problem, diagnostic tests were applied in reading, writing and mental calculation skills, through the Early Warning System (Sisat), where in reading rubrics such as fluency, precision, attention, adequate use of the voice, security and willingness and understanding. The written test of Mejoredu (Educational Improvement) and direct observation of performance were also applied.

In the diagnostic application of the Early Warning System (Sisat) in reading, writing and mental calculation skills, the results obtained were low, specifically reading, where only 8 of the 29 students are located at an Expected Level, 15 are in In Development level and 6 of them at the Support Required level. It is important to mention that when taking reading, the aspect in which the majority of the students ranked was "Poor comprehension".

Thus, according to tests carried out with the third grade students of the "Nicolás Bravo" Elementary School in in a rural town such as El Aserradero, the results obtained in the Mejoredu evaluation in terms of Reading are very low, since only 48.4% of the students answered the items correctly, the rest presented deficiencies, and the majority argue that they did not they understood what they had to do, some instructions or approaches seemed confusing to them, which shows a low reading comprehension.

The results obtained were those that allowed to determine the lack of comprehension in reading as a necessary problem for the investigation, as well as the design of a didactic strategy that favors reading comprehension. Within the field of knowledge, cognitive strategies are defined as plans or programs structured to achieve a certain objective (EDUCERE 2000), which is why the implementation of the didactic strategy was proposed: "Leyendo andamos" which aims to favor students third grade of Primary school the comprehension of written texts more effectively, through the use of reading strategies with different types of texts on a daily basis in the classroom, so that they can achieve better results in their school performance and give more meaning to what who read daily.

It must be borne in mind that didactic strategies, as a whole, require establishing a dialogical, constant, and triangular relationship between educators, students, and methodologies, even if the student ignores or not the methodologies used by the teacher for this purpose (Reynosa Navarro, et al. ., 2019)

The designed strategy consists of 4 sessions in the subject of Spanish Mother Language, whose purpose is for students to participate in the group reading of an informative text to broaden their knowledge (Table 1).

The table describes the didactic strategy designed in four sessions and where the activities to be developed are explained, considering the characteristics of the students, the spaces, the moments, the organization of the class, the materials, the products to be elaborated and the ways of assessment.

As we know when developing a didactic strategy in the classroom, an evaluation must be carried out, as mentioned in notebook 4 of Evaluation strategies and instruments from the formative approach (Mexico. Secretariat of Public Education, 2012, 2017), the learning assessment is one of the most complex tasks that teachers carry out, both because of the process it implies and because of the consequences of making judgments about the learning achievements of students. The evaluation of learning is an important element that allows us to assess the achievements that students have had according to the activities planned. Without forgetting that the formative evaluation is the most important, since in it the processes that are obtained are valued and in this way adaptations can be made to improve. Table 2 below shows the rubric used to evaluate the didactic strategy, according to the proposed activities.

Requires support 6 points	In development 8 points	Expected level 10 points
Need to read more carefully to retrieve the relevant information and its organizer is difficult to understand.	Read, retrieves information on the topic and makes its organizer, but it needs to better identify the relevant data.	Read carefully, identify and retrieve relevant information on the subject and organize it appropriately in a graph.
Show indifference in the proposal of actions on the care of the environment.	Show a certain willingness to propose actions to care for the environment.	Show willingness and interest to propose actions on environmental care
Easily distracted and shows no interest in the activity, incorrectly completes the words of the song.	Show willingness to listen and analyze the song, but lacks attention to identify missing words in the lyrics.	Show willingness to listen and analyze the proposed song, complete correctly words in the lyrics of it.
Show indifference at work and has minimal participation	Participate, but he needs to collaborate more in teamwork	Participate actively and collaborate in teamwork

During the development of the activities, the students showed interest and willingness towards them, there was collaboration between them for the realization of the products; however it is clear that the work with reading must be a permanent and constant activity to achieve the objectives that are expected, to take advantage of each of the opportunities that are presented every day to come into contact with different types of texts and explore them in such a way that it is not only done to fulfill a task, but also to develop a taste for exploring into them, and for therefore know how to interpret them.

According to the proposed activities and the rubric applied, a certain progress is shown in the analysis and understanding of the proposed texts. However, only 5 of the 29 students reached 10 points in terms of “Reading carefully, identifying and retrieving relevant information on the topic and organizing it appropriately in a graph”. And 3 of them only obtained 6 points, since "They need to read more carefully to retrieve the relevant information and their organizer is not very understandable." The rest of the students still need to better identify the relevant data. Therefore, it is necessary to continue working with activities where they come into contact with information, especially informative texts in a more analytical way, since it became evident that the unfamiliarity of some words in the texts prevents their full understanding.

Reading comprehension is an essential skill for anyone, since it is a very necessary tool not only for school life but also for functioning in many areas of life. It is recognized from the study plans and programs that this must be developed efficiently from the first years of schooling, since it depends on that in the future they can appropriate more significant learning.

The design of didactic strategies puts the teacher at the center, since it is he who knows and identifies the needs that students have in terms of the teaching-learning process, the context where they operate, the materials and resources that are within their reach. For this reason, it is necessary to be in constant contact with materials that allow them to soak up information regarding the design of didactic situations in which they seek to reach the objectives of the education graduation profile.

The application of the activities proposed in the didactic sequence seeks to put students in contact with various written texts, especially informative, since they are the ones that are most difficult for them, as well as instructional ones, so that they can develop skills in understanding texts, since students require support to understand what they read, as well as to improve their performance in other areas of knowledge.

One of the important elements in the design of a didactic strategy is undoubtedly the evaluation, since by assessing the results obtained it will be possible to identify what is working or not, and where adaptations have to be made. Always seeking to contribute the best possible to generate a quality education for all.

Ahmadi, M. (2012). Impacts of learning reading strategy on student's read- ing comprehension proficiency. The International Journal of Language and Applied Linguistics World, 1(1), 72-87.

Caiminagua-Nagua, M. C., & Espinoza-Freire, E. E. (2021). Importancia del libro de texto escolar en la comprensión lectora. Revista Transdiciplinaria De Estudios Sociales Y Tecnológicos, 1(3), 12–19.

Castro-Ortega, L., & Martínez-Guevara, E. Z. (2022). Tertulias literarias: una propuesta para desarrollar las habilidades de lectura e interpretación en alumnos de nivel medio superior. Revista Mexicana De Investigación E Intervención Educativa, 1(3), 52–58.

Reynosa Navarro, E., Serrano Polo, E. A., Ortega-Parra, A. J., Navarro Silva, O., Cruz-Montero, J. M., & Salazar Montoya, E. O. (2020). Estrategias didácticas para investigación científica: relevancia en la formación de investigadores. Universidad Y Sociedad, 12(1), 259-266.

Romero-Esteban, M. A. (2023). El desarrollo de la habilidad de lectoescritura en la secundaria mexicana. Revista UGC, 1(1), 19–23.

Smith, C. B. (1989). La enseñanza de la lecto-escritura: un enfoque interactivo. Aprendizaje Visor.

Wise, N., D'Angelo, N., & Chen, X. (2016). A school-based phonological awareness intervention for struggling readers in early French immersion. Reading and Writing, 29(2), 183-205.

Activities
Section 1
S T A R T	PHASE 1. PLANNING: Introduce the students to the day's activity, as well as the purpose, where they will listen to a song and analyze its content to identify the message they want to give us about caring for the environment.
S T A R T	MOMENT 1 Identification Mention if they have listened to songs and if they have paid attention to what they say. Propose to listen to the song "El progreso" and ask about what they think it will be about. Listen to the song. MOMENT 2 Recovery Rescue their knowledge about the actions that must be followed in order to take care of the environment. Mention about the message that is given in the song heard. Use the reading cube to comment on the content of the song, the parts of the cube are: -I liked it when… -I didn't like it when… -A place in the book is… -My favorite part is… -My favorite character… -The book reminds me… Make comments about what they think of the activity and why caring for the environment is important. MOMENT 3 Planning Comment that it is also important to read the lyrics of the song. Distribute copies with the lyrics of the song so that they can read it individually, there will be incomplete parts. Listen to the song again and try to sing it. When listening to it, they will complete with the missing words. Define the products to be produced during the project (infographic, proposal of actions for the care of the environment). Products: Reading of the song, completing words in the lyrics of the song. EVALUATION: Diagnosis: - Paticipation. - Indivudual Reading. - Analysis of the song. - Planning of actions and products of the project.
	Section 2
	PHASE 2. ACTION: Rescue information from school library books and carry out the proposed productions.
D E V E L O P M E N T	MOMENT 4 Approach Remember what was worked on in the previous session about caring for the environment. Go back to the copy of the lyrics of the song to identify what can be done to take care of the environment, what type of affectations we are doing, how it harms. MOMENT 5 Comprehension and production Form teams of 5 members. Explain that they will go to the school library to look for books that talk about caring for the environment. Carry out, in teams, a reading of the information found and take notes of what they consider important. Remember the characteristics of infographics and start organizing their own. Provide pertinent guidance so that, if necessary, the information is supplemented. If they need more information they could look for it at home or in other sources Products: -Information notes. -Infographic draft. Evaluation: -Formative: Rescue information and provide relevant guidance.
	Section 3
	MOMENT 6 Recognition Go back to the drafts of the infographics prepared in the previous session to remember the topic being worked on. Share information that they looked for at home to complement. Reflect on the importance of the subject and the consequences generated by the actions of human beings. In a section of their infographic, offer proposals for actions that can be carried out for the care and preservation of the environment. MOMENT 7 Concretion Read in teams the information contained in their drafts to check if it is complete and well written. Give them a piece of cardboard so that they can begin to make the drawings that their infographics will contain. Assign specific tasks within the team to each member to carry out the work. Give their infographic more shape to pass it on the poster board Provide guidelines to achieve the creation of artistic expressions with an original combination of shapes and colors. Products: -Infographics of the subject. –Actions to take care of the environment Evaluation: Formative: -Identification of relevant information and reflection on the actions to preserve the environment.
	Sesión 4 Section 4
	PHASE 3. INTERVENTION: Present their final products, presenting their infographics to hang them.
C I E R R E	MOMENT 8 Integration Read and review their final product to correct details. Organize, by teams, the way in which they will present their infographic to the group. Define what will be the participation of each member in the teams. MOMENT 9 Diffusion Present, at first, their productions to the group Assess their creativity in making their graphic organizers (infographics). MOMENT 10 Considerations Formulate approaches and/or suggestions that allow strengthening their productions and expanding their information. Receive the opinions of their classmates and the teacher to improve and make the pertinent corrections to be able to show their productions. Hang all the group's infographics on a clothesline outside the classroom to display them. MOMENT 11 Advances Consolidate their knowledge about caring for the environment and reflect on the actions we do on a daily basis, valuing the process we follow to obtain the information and carry out the productions, rescuing how important it is to read the information well to understand it better and learn to select it. Product: -Clothesline with infographics made to promote care for the environment. Evaluation: Formative and summative: -Exhibition of productions. -Make suggested corrections in their work. -Reflection on the impact of man on nature and actions for its care.
	Resources used: -Song "El progreso", by Roberto Carlos, -Copy with the lyrics of the song, -Notebook, -Classroom Library Books, -Colors, -Elaborated infographic.