The Effect of Instructional Materials on Reading Proficiency among Primary Students in Government Schools

The primary intention of this study is to determine the level of effectiveness of different instructional materials used in teaching reading to primary education children of selected government schools in China. The descriptive research method was employed in this study. Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describes data and characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied. Upon approval of the concerned individuals, questionnaires were reproduced and distributed through online forms to the seventy eight (78) teacher - respondents.The researcher used the convenience sampling in choosing the respondents because some teachers in the schools she selected were here classmates and common friends .It would be more convenient for the researcher to collect necessary data if she is acquainted with her respondents. As to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, most of the respondents believed that most of the millennial students are visual learners hence the variety of materials used in the classroom is proven effective in teaching reading.


Introduction
First grade is the most critical part of child"s education because of their vulnerability.During this grade, we lay the strong foundation a child can get.If we"re able to do this the child would have a better learning in the future.In early months of first grade majority of the students were non-readers.They are all struggling to read.Some children learn easily but others do not.In some instances, teachers use differentiated instructions just to cope up with the child"s level.But then, there are still children who are left behind.Because of this, teachers try a variety of strategies and one of these is the use of instructional materials.Instructional materials play a vital role in teaching first graders; through these learning becomes a lot easier and at the same time enjoyable .Because instructional materials serve as the bridge between the learner and the content to be taught.This study focuses on the effectiveness of the different reading materials used in teaching reading first graders.
Teaching reading is a tough job to deal on, and to be able to teach reading successfully a teacher must have a tantamount of patience, determination and knowledge.For first grade teachers, they need to think of some better ways so as to uplift the students genuine interest in reading.Teachers have to have a more meaningful and effective instructional materials that can motivate them in learning to read.
Teacher needs materials and other resources in order to have a fruitful classroom.Instructional materials are the things used in learning instructions, which includes active learning and assessment.Any resource that an educator uses to help him in imparting knowledge to his students is an instructional material.Instructional materials are in various classes, such as audio or aural, visual or audiovisual.Thus, audio instructional materials refer to those devices that make use of the sense of hearing only, like radio, audio tape recording, and television.Visual instructional materials on the other hand, are those devices that appeal to the sense of sight only such as the chalkboard, chart, slide, and filmstrip.An audio-visual instructional material however, is a combination of devices which appeal to the sense of both hearing and seeing such as television, motion picture and the computer.Among the instructional materials the classroom teacher uses, the visuals out-numbered the audio and audio-visual.

Review of Related Studies 2.1 Purpose of Instructional Materials
The use of different instructional materials shall have a certain purpose.Esther (2009) states that, teaching and learning materials design, production and their use facilitate the teaching and learning outcomes.However, the success of using IM to meet the teaching objectives demands, effective use and communication skills of the teacher to satisfy instructional delivery.Cox (2011) stated that one of the many jobs teachers have is selecting instructional materials that will fit each students" reading performance.Teachers have a myriad of materials available for their teaching strategies, including basal readers, trade books, chapter books, poetry, and technological materials, just to name a few.It is essential that teachers find a text that fits the reader as well as advances his or her strengths.The key is to find materials that match the reader.
For Chuba (2000), Instructional materials are the relevant materials utilized by a teacher during instructional process for the purpose of making the contents of the instructions more practical and less vague.
Hainich (2010) further support the subject by saying that the primary function of a visual aids as a communication device is to serve as more concrete referent to meaning than spoken or written word.They therefore conclude that visual aid is more clearly are easily understand than verbal messages.Ornstein(1992) states that regardless of the instructional aide to be used, a teacher must consider it in light of the purpose of the learning activity.The instructional aide must be suited to that objective purpose-whether it be subject matter mastery, skills improvement, or valuing.
Huggins and Edwards (2011) Instructional scaffolding, as noted earlier, is an old concept with a new name.Most teachers have used scaffolding activities in the classroom in one or more ways.Research suggests that providing assistance and support to students through instructional scaffolding optimizes student learning.
According to Thungu (2008), IM meet the needs of learners, fulfill the requirements of the subjects and facilitate the teaching and learning process.
As to Mwangi (2010), in the teaching learning process, IM serves functions of enhancing retention which makes learning more permanent.Equally, they stimulate and sustain interest in learning by providing first-hand experience with the realities of the physical and social environment.Ayot (2006) in their advice to teachers, observed that the teaching resources are used to increase learning, to generate more interest and to create a situation where the learners would fully engage in classroom activities.Dale, Finn and Hoban (1950) conclude that audio-visual materials properly used can serve the following purpose; supply a concrete basis for conceptual thinking, provide a high degree of interest, supply the necessary basis for developmental learning, offer reality of experience which stimulates self -activity on the part of students, contribute to the growth of meaning and hence to the development of vocabulary, develop a continuity of thought, and provide experiences not easily secured by other materials and contribute to the efficiency and variety of learning.

Effects of Using Instructional Materials in Teaching and Learning Process
The Encyclopedia of Educational Research states that, in harmony with findings of the American Council on Education study, good utilization means that the teacher is acquainted with the materials before he attempts to use them.
Teacher's role is to create an environment that invites learners to observe, to be active, make choices and to experiment (Judy 2001).He further states that IM are tools used for teaching and learning hence, supports the teacher in delivery of knowledge or help to emphasize specific knowledge.
As what Phyllis (2011), said instructional materials possess some inherentadvantages that make them unique in teaching.For one thing, they provide the teacher with interesting and compelling platforms for conveying information since they motivate learners to want to learn more opportunities for private study and reference, the learner"s interest and curiosity are increasingly stimulated.
Bolick (2003) pointed to a good relationship between effective teachings and using of instructional materials.He argued that ". . .while some educators have been fascinated by the potential of instructional materials to enhance teaching and learning, teachers lagged behind in using instructional materials during teaching and learning.Others expressed doubts that instructional materials will ever incite teaching reform on participation".Instructional materials are integral components of teaching-learning situations; it is not just to supplement learning but to complement its process.Allen and Hart (2009) states that besides using touching materials the teacher must ensure that variety of the same are available in class for effective teaching and learning.They say that the materials and equipment presented in early childhood setting should be chosen to provide many and varied opportunities for learners to practice and master familiar skills through a variety of materials.
Based on the study of Nafees, ET.Al. (2012), the results suggest that different instructional strategies may lead students to acquire knowledge in different ways, and at different rates throughout the term of study.The results of this study are encouraging, and suggest that it is possible for students in a problem-based instructional strategy to perform better than the students in a conventional, lecture-based instructional strategy on academic achievement.Problem-based instructional strategy seems to improve the academic achievements of 9th grade students in basic general science learning.In the short term, students taught through problem-based instructional strategy showed a higher improvement in the understanding of general science concepts than the students taught through lecture-based instructional strategy.This improvement was statistically significant in the posttest academic achievement.According to Sweet (2014) the Teacher Prep Report from the National Council on Education Quality (2013), colleges of education are woefully deficient in the preparation of prospective teachers on how to teach children to read.Thus, new teachers are influenced by those who have been using harmful instructional practices for a generation or more, and are saddled with textbooks adopted by school administrators who willfully and knowingly spend billions of dollars each year on failed instructional materials that perpetuate illiteracy rather than cure it.
From the findings of the study of Adebule and Ayoola (2016), it could be concluded that students taught using instructional materials performed significantly better compared to the control group.In general, students will perform better provided they are allowed to interact or participate effectively in the teaching learning process through the use of instructional materials.Based on the findings it was recommended that principals, proprietors and officials of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology should ensure regular supervision to enhance effective use of instructional materials and resources in the teaching of Mathematics in Schools.Also, emphasis should be placed on the use of instructional materials in preparing teachers and provision of in service training to update skills.Hsieh & Dwyer (2009) findings on their study is that different reading strategies have different instructional structures and functions in facilitating student achievement of different types of learning objectives.Rereading strategy, implemented on the web in teleprompter fashion, resulted in students having greatly improved comprehension.In addition, practical implications of implementing rereading strategy are like using an online supervisory system in counseling centers.
Smith, Mead, and Kinsella (1998) reviewed several live supervision techniques and found that direct supervision with computer monitors is the most effective method.A prompt shown on the computer monitor can include words and/or visual icons.Scherl and Haley"s (2000) clinical notes also had positive comments for placing two 14-inch color computer monitors separately, one in the therapy room and the other in the supervisor"s room.They conducted a qualitative investigation with six master"s-level students during a 10-week practicum training.The students" clients knew of the purpose of using the monitors and eight livesupervision sessions were videotaped.The students found computer-assisted supervision less disruptive.
As to the article of Shen and Huang (2007) details a teacher should develop, implement and demonstrate proficiency and enthusiasm to create a caring and encouraging learning climate in their classrooms.

Instructional Materials as Defined by Different Authors
Instructional materials have been defined by various authors.Obanya (1989) viewed them as didactic materials thing which are supposed to make learning and teaching possible.
According to Abdullahi (1982), instructional materials are materials or tools locally made or imported that could made tremendous enhancement of lesson impact if intelligently used.Ikerionwu (2010) referred to them as objects or devices, which help the teacher to make a lesson much clearer to the learner.For Agina-obu, (2005) Instructional materials are also described as concrete or physical objects which provide sound, visual or both to the sense organs during teaching.

Things to Consider in Teaching Reading
There are things to consider when you are teaching reading according to Learning First Alliance.
Training in Alphabetic Basics.To read children must know how to blend isolated sounds into words; to write, they must how to break words into their component sounds.First grade students who don"t yet know their letters and sounds will need special catch-up instruction.

A Proper Balance between Phonics and Meaning in Their Instruction
Some teachers teach a little phonics on the side, perhaps using special materials for this purpose, while they primarily use basal reading programs that do not follow a strong sequence of phonics instruction.Others teach phonics in context, which means stopping from time to time during reading or writing instruction to point out, for example, a short or an application of the silent rule.

Strong Reading Materials.
Early in first grade, a child"s reading materials should feature a high proportion of new words that use a letter-sound relationships they have been taught.It makes no sense to teach decoding strategies and then have children read materials in which these strategies won"t work.On this point the National academy of Sciences report recommends that students should read well-written and engaging texts that include words that children can decipher to give them the chance to apply their emerging skills.It further recommends that children practice reading independently with texts slightly below their frustration level and receive assistance with slightly more difficult texts.

Strategies for Teaching Comprehension.
Learning to read is not a linear process.Students do not need to learn decode before they can learn to comprehend.Both skills should be taught at the same time from the earliest stages of reading instruction.Comprehension strategies can be taught using materials that is read by children, as well as using material the children read themselves.

Writing Program.
Creative and expository writing instruction should be given in kindergarten and continue during first grade and beyond.Writing in addition to being valuable in its own right, gives children opportunities to use their new reading competence.Research shows invented spelling to be a powerful means of leading students to internalize phonemic awareness and the alphabetic principle.

Smaller Class Size.
Class size makes a difference in early reading performance.Studies comparing class size of approximately 15 to those around 25 in the early primary grades reveal that class size has a significant impact on reading achievement, especially if teachers are also using more effective instructional strategies.

Curriculum Based Assessment.
In first grade and beyond, regular curriculum-based assessments are needed to guide decisions about such things as grouping, the pace of instruction, and individual needs for assistance (such as tutoring).The purpose of curriculum-based assessment is to determine how children are doing in the particular curriculum being used in the classroom or school, not to indicate how children are doing on national norms.In first grade, assessments should focus on all of the major components of early reading: decoding of phonetically regular words, recognition of sight words, comprehension, writing, and so on.

Effective Grouping Strategy.
Children enter first grade at different points in their reading development.Some already read, while others lack even the most basic knowledge of letters and sounds.Recognizing this, schools have long used variety of methods to group children for instruction appropriate to their needs.Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Tutoring Support.Most children can learn to read by the end of first grade with good-quality reading instruction alone.In every school, however, there are children who need more assistance.Small-group remedial methods, such as those typical of Title I or special education resource room programs, have not generally been found to be effective in increasing the achievement of these children.One-on-one tutoring, closely aligned with classroom instruction, has been effective for struggling first-graders.
Home Reading.Children should be spending more time reading than is available at school.They should read at home on a regular basis, usually 20-30 minutes each evening.Parents can be asked to send in signed forms indicating that children have done their home reading.Many teachers ask that children read aloud with their parents, siblings, or others in first grade and then read silently thereafter.

The Influence of Instructional Materials to Teachers Performance
For almost three decades, research has documented the influence of teachers' beliefs on educational practice (Berthelsen and Brownlee, 2007; Kuzborska, 2011; Barrot, 2015).Teacher's beliefs are thoughts, perceptions, and values about their roles as educators, education, and how students learn (Vartuli, 2005).It has even been shown that if teachers are aware of their own beliefs, the repertoire of teaching skills can be increased (Tracey and Mandel, 2012), leading to a change in classroom decision making, and teaching strategies and evaluation.If we want to achieve improvements in teaching, it is necessary to examine the teachers' beliefs and modify them (McAlpine and Weston, 2002).A great deal of research in this direction has shown that instructional events can be catalysts for changing beliefs (Stevens, 2002;Theurer, 2002;Fazio, 2003), since beliefs are permeable mental structures susceptible to change (Thompson, 1992), although there appears to be no consensus on this (Block and Hazelin, 1995;Richardson, 1996).
More recent studies have provided us with more detailed information on how beliefs and implicit knowledge influence teachers' instructional practices (Cunningham and Zibulsky, 2009), actions, and strategies that they implement to teach reading in the classroom.The research carried out in this regard has focused on differentiating three traits appearing in the teaching and learning of reading.Thus, Tolchinsky and Ríos (2009) analyzed the relationship between what teachers say and do (2.250),teaching practice (N = 2), and students' knowledge (N = 814).To do this, they used a self-report questionnaire of 30 questions, with high reliability (α = 0.81) and a Likert scale (0-6).Through a cluster analysis, they detected three differentiated profiles: instructional practices focused on teaching the names of letters, letter-sound relationships, as well as the importance of learning products; a situational approach to activities arising from classroom situations, where students look for the means to understand texts that they do not know; and multidimensional activities such as letter knowledge, recognition, and letter-sound association, as well as reading and writing work from situations that arise in the classroom.The results showed the following distribution: instructional (33.87%), situational (37.06%), and multidimensional (29.06%).Also, they found that 30% of the children were able to recognize unknown words and did not seem to have difficulty in mastering the code, and that teachers used explicit, early, and systematic teaching practices.Also, in Spain, Barragán and Medina (2008), analyzed the practices teachers use through questionnaires.They found significant differences depending on the profile and educational level.Thus, nursery/kindergarten teachers showed a higher profile of situational practices (50%), compared to primary school teachers who showed a profile of instructional practices (70%).Subsequently, they analyzed the profile of practices according to geographical area, finding that the teachers who carried out the greatest number of situational practices were those of the Basque country, followed by teachers from Almería, Cantabria, Catalonia, and the Community of Madrid (more than 50%).Catalonia and Cantabria showed a lower frequency of instructional practices (less than 20%); however, the teachers from León and Asturias used these practices more frequently (more than 55%).The same authors also observed six Early Childhood Education classrooms in Almeria.The results showed a relationship between the declared belief profile and its practices in the classroom.In another study, Ríos et al. (2010) demonstrated the relationship between the knowledge learned and the practices in teaching reading of two Infant Education teachers.They found that the contents worked on by the teacher with a situational profile were reading and writing functions, identification of words in reading, and letter names and sound values.
The teacher with an instructional profile used word identification and word reading.In the study carried out by Baccus (2004), a direct relationship was found between the teachers' beliefs and the instructional time dedicated to the teaching of reading.In addition, Rapoport et al. (2016) focused on analyzing the beliefs that teachers maintain (N = 144) regarding the contribution of executive functions in reading performance and their teaching practice.Their results showed a positive relationship between these two variables (r = 0.512, p < 0.01).
Ethnicity has been another feature highlighted in studies assessing the dyad of beliefs and practices in teaching.The Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement [CIERA] (2001) examined the beliefs and practices of 250 early childhood teachers.Their results showed a relationship between beliefs (based on the importance of the development of alphabetic knowledge, word recognition, stories, and oral language) and practices.Differences in relation to beliefs were found based on the ethnicity of teachers.African American teachers tended to believe that it was more important for the child to learn to read through teaching the alphabet (e.g., naming letters, saying their sounds), while white teachers thought it was more important for children to learn to read from teaching oral language activities (e.g., answering questions about a story or telling a story from a drawing).On the other hand, they found significant differences depending on the academic training received, so teachers with a higher academic level believed that teaching of oral language was more important, while teachers with lower academic levels did not share this belief.Also, the report presented by the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) (OCDE, 2009) provides detailed information on the development of variables involved in the teaching and learning process.This report analyzed the beliefs of secondary school teachers in several countries.Their results indicated that most countries (Northeastern Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and Korea) showed constructivist positions (p < 0.05).Humanities teachers presented more structured beliefs and were little oriented toward students (p < 0.05), also with differences depending on teaching experience, so the teachers with more years of experience thought and performed more structured practices (p < 0.05).The analyses also revealed a positive correlation between constructivist beliefs and practices in teachers from different countries (p < 0.05), except in Korea, where a weak relationship was found between beliefs and practices with a direct style.Finally, they found that positioning depended largely on the quality of the learning environment and job satisfaction (p < 0.05).In subsequent reports (OCDE, 2013), an average 95% of OECD teachers stated that they agree with constructivist practices.
Other lines of research have not found a bidirectional relationship between the teachers' thinking and their action in the classroom.An example is the study carried out by Miglis et al. (2014) with 90 Norwegian teachers.They used a 130-item questionnaire to measure beliefs (e.g., their role as teachers, the role of teachers in teaching reading, consistency with current research about the importance of early literacy) and teaching practices (e.g., books, book contents, alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, and reading and writing).They found that teachers reported moderately positive beliefs about their role as a teacher in their students' reading success, and they "agreed" with the idea that research has found that early literacy is necessary.These beliefs were not related to their practices, since the time devoted to this type of instruction was minimal.However, they discovered that the most widely used practice was "shared reading and reading aloud for 10 min a day" (29.3%).There are numerous studies that have not found a relationship between these two variables (Wilcox-Herzog, 2001).Thus, for example, through two teachers' collaboration, Pérez-Peitx (2013) was able to observe classroom practices and analyze interviews.Their results also indicated that there was no relationship between these two variables.Along the same lines, another recent study (Utami et al., 2019) based on socio-cognitive theory studied teacher beliefs and practices in reading comprehension tasks.They found that the practices were not always consistent with their beliefs.

The Extent to which Instructional Materials Affect Student Performance
In his study Adeogun (2001) revealed a strong positive link between instructional resources and academic performance.According to Adeogun, schools that possess more instructional resources performed better than schools that have less instructional resources.This finding supported the study by Babayomi (1999) that private schools performed better than government schools because of the availability and adequacy of teaching and learning resources.Adeogun (2001) noted that there was a low level of instructional resources available in government schools and hence commented that government schools had acute shortages of both teaching and learning resources.He 19 further commented that effective teaching and learning cannot occur in the classroom environment if essential instructional resources are not available.Fuller and Clark (1994) suggested that the quality of instructional processes experienced by a learner determines quality of education.In their view they suggest that quality instructional materials creat into the learners quality learning experience.Mwiria (1995) also supports that students performance is affected by the quality and quantity of teaching and learning resources.This implies that the schools that possess adequate teaching and learning materials such as textbooks, charts, pictures, real objects for students to see, hear and experiment with, stand a better chance of performing well in examination than poorly equipped ones.A study by Chonjo (1994) on the physical facilities and teaching learning materials in Primary schools in Tanzania supports the above views.Chonjo interviewed teachers and students on the role of instructional materials on effective learning.From is his study he learned that performance could be attributed to adequate teaching and learning materials and equipments that are in a school.He recommended that in order to provide quality education the availability of sufficient quality facilities is very important.Chonjo's study was one of its kinds in Tanzania which directly linked the role of physical facilities with students' academic performance in primary schools.However, Chonjo focused only on physical facilities, leaving out instructional materials.To me, physical facilities such as buildings including classrooms, chairs and desks are not enough to provide quality teaching and learning.Instructional 20 materials are also necessary.The study done by Maundu (1987) agrees with my ideas that, in order for a school to have a good performance it must be well equipped with relevant and adequate text books and other teaching and learning resources.2.3.2Challenges that Teachers Face in Accessing Instructional Materials Teachers in community secondary schools most especially in rural community schools face some challenges in accessing instructional materials.One of the big challenges that teachers in community secondary schools face in accessing instructional materials is meagre funds provided by the government to community secondary schools for purchasing instructional materials.Community secondary schools depend to the large extent on the government for funding.Very little support is received from local government and communities around the schools most especially in rural areas due to poverty.The funds are provided in form of capitation grants.The capitation grant is aimed at improving the quality of education by making sure that sufficient leaching and learning material are found at school level.In particular, the capitation grant is meant to finance the purchase of textbooks and other teaching and learning materials as well as to fund repairs, administration materials, and examination expenses (Uwazi, 2010).However, while the number of students who are enrolled in schools has been increasing each year, education capitation grant has been dropping.Even without adjusting for inflation, the actual amount of money reaching schools for capitation grants is clearly much less today compared to what it was between 2002 and 2003.According to the Education Government Expenditure Tracking Survey of 2004, in the period 2002-2003 schools received an average of 5,400 shillings per student.In 21 2007/08 however, the money actually reaching the schools had declined to 4,189 shillings per pupil (URT, 2010).This amount of money is grossly insufficient to purchase a minimum set of textbooks apart from other instructional materials which are highly needed by the teachers.According to Onche (2014), government's Policy towards efficient provision of these aspects of educational resources has not been encouraging and has always not been well planned, monitored, supervised and evaluated with rural schools as the back bench of implication of these policies.Another challenge that teachers face is the lack of exposure and limited accessibility to modern instructional facilities.Most community secondary schools especially in rural areas do not have access to information communication technology (ICT) which could alleviate shortage of instructional materials.As we are in a new millennium, there is an increased awareness of the need to use modern scientific approach in teaching and learning processes in our schools.At present, there is a universal recognition of information and communication technology as a major force in the dissemination of knowledge (Aina, 2013).Majority of teachers who were trained early 1990's and backward do not have skills in the field of Information and Communication Technology.Where there are skilled teachers, other problems naturally include problem of installation, maintenance, operation, network administration and local technicians to service or repair these equipment's and the other facilities.In most of the rural secondary schools, most of the facilities are non-existent, hence the traditional chalk and duster approach still dominates in secondary school pedagogy (Obasi, 2008).22 Poor salary is also another challenge that teachers face.Teachers like most civil servants in Tanzania are poorly paid.This becomes a hindrance for them to purchase their own teaching materials or acquisition of new ideas, skills and knowledge by failure in enrolling for further educational programmes including Information and Communication Technology (ICT).With this, the academic and intellectual capacities of teachers and learners are bound to be affected substantially during classroom interaction (Onche, 2014).Lack of sufficient skills and creativity may hinder teachers to improvise their own instructional materials.Local governments and communities around community secondary schools are supposed to provide resources most especially funds to these schools so that teachers can use them to access instructional materials.But very often this is not the case due to number of reasons.Some local communities have very narrow tax base.Also the performance of local councils in the collection of their own revenue have been recorded very poor.According to Galabawa (1993), there are few types of councils in Tanzania, which can manage to collect government grants.Many local authorities however have found themselves unable to deal with such a rapid increase in expenditure and their budget deficit increase.Education is one of the sectors, which are mostly affected by this situation.Poverty is another reason, which may hinder members of the community in supporting teachers and schools financially so that they can access instructional materials.According to Kimego (2011), Parents and communities participation differ from rural to urban communities and from one mode of economy to another.Parents who are involved in cash crops economy have economic ability to 23 finance education compared to parents who are not involved in cash crop economy.For example pastoral communities such as Masai have displayed poor financing strand for their children.Teachers who work in such areas have more challenges in accessing instructional materials.Another challenge that teachers face in accessing instructional materials is lack of clear policy and monitoring mechanisms to ensure that enough funds are provided to community secondary schools for purchasing instructional materials and also these funds are used for the intended purpose.As Onche (2014) comments, government's Policy towards efficient provision of these aspects of educational resources has not been encouraging and has always not been well planned, monitored, supervised and evaluated with rural schools as the back bench of implication of these policies.2.3.3Strategies to Minimize the Challenges of Attaining and using Quality Instructional Materials There are a number of strategies, which can be used in order to minimize the challenges of attaining and using quality instructional materials.According to studies done in different parts of the world including Africa, one of the strategies is improvisation of instructional materials.Eshiet (1996) states that improvisation involves sourcing, selection and deployment of relevant instructional materials into the teaching-learning focus in the absence or shortage of standard materials for a meaningful realization of specified educational goals and objectives.According to studies done by Abodelraheem & Al-Rabane (2005), Udosen (2011) and Ibe-Bassey (2012) some creation of improvised media of low technological 24 materials and resource-centred learning can enlarge the limited knowledge base of any course of study and enrich instruction to a guaranteed quality.It can also promote strategies that ensure the integration of technology in the teaching and learning process of basic science education.their findings are in agreement with the findings of Dodge (1997) who observed that using technologies like simulation devices open new horizons for individual learning tools, the environment resources and services.The use of ICT can also minimize some of the challenges in accessing instructional materials.According to UNESCO (2004), the use and rapid spread of electronic communications has the capacity to affect the quality and efficiency of basic education throughout the world.The ease with which teachers and students can gather information over the Internet on virtually any topic has the potential to transform instructional content and pedagogical practice.Moreover, courses developed by the best teachers in one country can be made available to students across many countries.Newer technology-based instructional strategies, incorporating the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW), can therefore be used more to expand communication and increase access to resources.Tinio (2002), points out that ICT has potentials in increasing access and improving relevance and quality of education in developing countries.Tinio further states the potentials of ICT as follows: ICTs greatly facilitate the acquisition and absorption of knowledge, offering developing countries unprecedented opportunities to enhance educational systems.

Reading
Reading is essential to one's success in the varied industries of society.The ability to read is highly valued and important for social and economic advancement.Most children learn to read fairly well.In the Philippines, teachers are most concerned with the large number of children who may be imperiled in their career path or social opportunities because they have less than the sufficient reading skills that are required to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive economy.Current difficulties in reading are largely indicated by the rising demands for literacy.In a technological society, the demands for higher literacy are ever increasing, creating more grievous consequences for those who fall short (Fountas and Pinnell: 2008).
Reading is a complex and purposeful socio-cultural, cognitive, and linguistic process in which readers simultaneously use their knowledge of spoken and written language, their knowledge of the topic of the text, and their knowledge of their culture to construct meaning with text.Each of these types of knowledge impacts the sense that readers construct through print.Readers in different parts of the world easily comprehend text with familiar language but are less successful at comprehending text with unfamiliar language.Readers easily comprehend text on familiar topics but are less successful at comprehending texts on unfamiliar topics.At the same time, the interpretations readers construct with texts as well as the types of texts they read are influenced by their life experience (Commission on Reading of the National Council of Teachers of English, 2004).Moreover, majority of students being referred for academic concerns are also identified as either having a specific learning disability or have difficulties in the area of reading.Among the population of students with learning disabilities, an estimated 80 percent have reading disabilities.Students with poor reading skills are becoming more apparent to educators and parents due to the results found on criterion-referenced, high stakes mandatory testing that most schools nationwide have incorporated across grade levels (Joseph, 2002).The significance of developing students' competitive reading skills is aligned to the implementation of the K to 12 Basic Education Program.To reinforce the effectiveness of instruction along reading skills, the pertinent assessment tools have been fortified in order to determine the real status of students' reading proficiency.One such assessment tool is called the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI).It measures the reading proficiency of learners through word recognition and reading comprehension in English by obtaining students' rate in word recognition accuracy and in comprehension questions based on the set of criteria for reading levels.On the other hand, students with instructional reading level can only read under a teacher's guidance.Those in the independent reading level can read alone with ease even without the guidance of the teacher.Reading programs have been set up in all school divisions for both government and private schools.However, the programs are not enough to develop students' optimal reading habit.Thus, it is unfortunate to note that despite the efforts and different programs launched by the Ministry of Education to ensure that children in every grade level are equipped with reading skills; actual statistics has indicated that students promoted to high school cannot even read a simple word, i.e. so-called "struggling readers".Another essential component of reading skill is comprehension.The latter is highly interactive, such that readers must be able to tap on a variety of skills and processes when comprehending texts.These processes are complex and consist of multiple components.A variety of cognitive models have been developed to lend support to the various skills processes thought to impact comprehension (Middleton, 2011).Standford's (2015) research found several key factors that impede a students' reading comprehension.In reading, numerous cognitive processes are used in aid of comprehension.Likewise, strong vocabulary skills aid a student's ability to read proficiently.Unfortunately, as students struggle to read, they often avoid reading.Refusal to read implies a wide range of consequences since reading also influences vocabulary development.Thus, when one's reading is not fluent or a regular habit, then the development of one's vocabulary is also retarded.During reading, students continually process words to create meaning; and without a strong vocabulary, students struggle to understand what they read.The study of Cadias (2013) reinforces the foregoing explanation.Accordingly, Cardias states that of the four macro skills, little attention has been paid to reading.This goes true with one of the micro skill under Reading, which is comprehension.The latter was found to be a major challenge for many students, which has qualified the academic weakness of most high school students.On account of this researcher's survey of the teacher feedbacks on the reading performance of Grade 7 students in Mapandan National High School, it was found that most of the students especially in lower sections are consigned to "frustration level".A pre-reading test, administered last June 27-30, 2017 among 551 Grade 7 students of the school, revealed that a total of 33 students were identified to be at "frustration level" in terms of word recognition and reading comprehension.The same observation was figured in other schools in Mapandan as the researcher learned about it through the consolidated status report in reading.This gives rise to the exigency and imperative for reinforced remedial instructional materials in reading.With the alarming large fraction of struggling readers among Grade 7 students, an urgent solution is imperative.Launched from the above national context and the local situation of the school where the researcher is in the roster of teachers, this study was conducted in order to provide crucial information to the concerned teachers and a general reference for all other teachers encountering similar problems with their students regarding poor reading performance and poor comprehension.It is every student's right to receive competent instruction that shapes him / her to be a skilled reader.Thus, in aid of the teacher's agentive role in the enterprise of reading skills, this study offers a prototype of a supplementary learning material that may be employed by teachers to improve the word recognition level and comprehension skills of struggling readers.The road to knowledge begins with the turn of a page.The ability to read is recognized as one of the most important skills that a person can have.It is difficult to discover any ability in the school, in the home, in business, or in any other field of endeavor that does not require reading.Through reading, one can ponder the mysteries of the world, explore accumulated knowledge, and contemplate the unknown (Sanders & Rivers, 2005).Similarly, Flores (2009) emphasizes that learning to read is one of the most important skills.With the ability to speak effectively and to write in a variety of forms and for a variety purposes, reading competency can open avenues for upward mobility or economic opportunity, improve social status, increase personal pleasure and enhance self-respect.Thus, the ability to read and to comprehend the printed work is a prerequisite to academic success.In the same way, Resurrection (2010) describes reading as the basic tool for learning, for it facilitates the ability to reason, to think, judge and evaluate what has been read and to solve problems.Additionally, reading is a necessary tool for learning the subject in the curriculum and the ability to read is indispensable in leading a successful life.Miller as cited by Alonzo (2005), it is very important to know the reading performance of the students since this skill is considered the key for gaining knowledge.One reads to attain knowledge that is useful in constructing new knowledge.Comprehension refers to the creation and re-creation of meaning from the printed materials.However, one cannot deny the fact that hard of reading ability is a perennial problem in the educational system.Teachers must be aware of this because they are the central figures in all teaching activities.The challenge for a brighter future of our school children depends on the teachers.So they must accept the challenge and perform their duties and responsibilities honestly and devotedly (www.sciencedaily.com).Accordingly, the International Reading Association (2000) issues a position statement that provides a research-based description of the distinguishing qualities of excellent classroom reading teachers.Excellent reading teachers share several critical qualities of knowledge and practice which are contributory to the students' reading performance: a.They understand reading and writing development, and believe all children can learn to read and write.b.They continually assess children's individual progress and relate reading instruction to children's previous experiences.c.They know a variety of ways to teach reading, when to use each method, and how to combine the method into an effective instruction program.d.They offer a variety of materials and texts for children to read and are good reading "coaches".e.They use flexible grouping strategies to tailor instruction to individual students.Likewise, Karp (2006) states that the new three-word aim of the U.S. Department of Education's Early Childhood Division in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement underscores the priority of building an adequate foundation for later reading success: relationships, resiliency, and readiness.The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) is one of the most useful classroom tools in assessing a student's reading ability.It is one variation of Informal Reading Inventory (IRI).It is adopted in the context of IRI to help teachers determine the reading abilities and needs of their students in order to provide bases for planning their classroom instruction.It can give teachers information on the level of their student's performance in reading through actual observation (http://philinformal.reading).Ayson (2008) says a typical IRI is administered individually and it consists of graded stories followed by comprehension questions of different dimensions.Depending on the purpose, an IRI may contain comprehension questions on a few or more on the following reading skills: getting the main idea, inference, sequencing events, finding cause-effect relationship, and noting details.Most IRIs would include measures of word miscues and comprehension as well as provision for student's re-telling of the passage read.
Thus, the IRI provides the teachers with a comprehensive profile of their student's ability in reading, whether orally or silently, including their reading habits and attitudes.The teachers may then use this information in planning their classroom reading instruction (https://philinformal.reading).Moreover, Sevilla et al. (2008) stress that the Phil-IRI-Oral Test is an informal measure that assesses the students' word identification, vocabulary and comprehension skills in oral reading.The Phil-IRI uses a predetermined set of criteria in identifying the reading levels namely; frustration, instructional an independent.Teachers should continuously monitor the development of the students' reading performance.In this way, teachers could plan for future programs and instructions suited for the students' reading level (Flores, 2009).On Word Recognition According to Anderson (2000), all readings begin with recognition of words.In the early years of the child's growth, they learn to produce new words through lettersound recognition and letter blending.As they mature and begin to spell longer and more complex words, they apply to their spelling the concepts of root words and affixes i.e. prefixes and suffixes.When a child is first taught to read, the emphasis is usually on decoding skills.This is the process whereby the written letters and words are translated into language.He is taught phonics and from learning the sounds of individual letters, he progresses to putting the sounds together to form words. Similarly, Snow, et al. (2008) disclose that word recognition subsequently becomes increasingly automatized by direct recognition of multi-letter units and whole words.Automatic word recognition enables children to devote their mental resources to the meaning of text rather than to recognizing words, allowing them to use reading as a tool to acquire new concepts and information.It is commonly assumed that both cognitive and linguistic factors have a great impact on reading acquisition and also on reading impairment.Furthermore, Sanders, et al. (2005) state that word decoding, vocabulary, and listening comprehension can be seen as critical factors for developing the ability to efficiently build up text models during reading comprehension.Moreover, verbal memory skills play a special role in research on the relationship between language and literacy problems.Given the fact that linguistic knowledge and memory capacity can be seen as highly interdependent, shortterm memory tasks can be seen as indirect means of assessing the operation of language-processing mechanisms.On the other hand, Shaywitz (2003) contends that students must learn that there are systematic and predictable relationships between letter combinations and spoken sound.While formal phonics instruction is important, it should not take up more than 25 percent of available reading instruction time.Students should be engaged in actual reading much more than they are engaged in discussing the act of reading.Verhoeven & Van Leeuwe (2009) explain in word recognition research that L1 reading abounds with a predominant focus on children's acquisition of word recognition skills.The literature indicates that children acquire word recognition skills in their native language gradually with increasing accuracy and speed.Also, Whitehurst (2010) describes that learning to read is affected by "the foundation skills of phonological processing, print awareness, and oral language".Where these components are lacking, children may be "unready" to begin some of the activities in the kindergarten's literacy curriculum, and they are more likely than other children to be poor readers in the long term.Lifehack's (2004) contends that students, who lack opportunities to speak English, shun from saying an English word because they are more comfortable in using their mother tongue.Moreover, he suggests that oralreading has to be done regularly to provide more opportunities for the struggling readers to be exposed in English.Tonjes and Zintz (2001) point out that one reason why some students are poor in reading is that they have not learned reading styles that are needed to help them extract ideas from print with an economy of effort and with an appreciation for both the quality of the ideas and the craft of the author.What happens is they begin reading the selection with no particular purpose.They never pause to reflect upon what they are reading and to put the author's ideas into their own personal language.Matthews (2006) states that omission happens when the reader misses a letter out of a word that is superfluous or that he/she is unable to understand from contextual clues.The reader skips over the word/s and supply with another word.During oral reading, students often say something other than what is actually printed in the book.Such "miscues" can be used to help teachers make decisions about upcoming reading instruction.Deviations from text during oral reading are not simply random mistakes but form patterns that reveal useful information about children's reading abilities (Villlamin, 2009).Accordingly, miscue analysis can be employed to assist professionals in gaining insight into the reading process.It involves both a quantitative and a qualitative component.Miscue analysis targets to analyze the oral reading of individual students to gain insight into the linguistic knowledge and strategy use of readers while reading and "meaning making", and to help professionals evaluate reading material.It also provides an objective basis for determining whether a given selection should be used in a reading program and for determining material's suitability for use by students.These are not considered errors or mistakes.Rather, they are considered non-random indices of the individual's underlying reading ability, linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, and reading strategies.The interest is both on the miscues and how the miscues change, disrupt, or enhance the meaning of a written text (Matthews, 2006).Moreover, Reading Miscue Inventory is concerned largely with errors that cause a loss of meaning, the number of errors being less important than their immediate impact on comprehension.There are differences in the acceptability of various miscues.Good miscues maintain meaning and are viewed as an indication that the student is using meaning to drive the reading process, and hence, is on the correct path.Bad miscues are those that alter meaning.Whether the word the student reads corresponds to the written word may not be important in this conception.Within the whole language framework, self-corrections are a clear and pleasing sign that meaning and syntactic cues are being integrated into the reader's strategies (Sanders, 2005).Similarly, Swerling and Stenberg (1994) assert that good readers self-corrected errors at a higher rate than did poor readers.She considered high rates were indicative of good text-cue integration, which in turn was a measure of reading progress.When text difficulty was controlled in reading level-matched designs, the rates of self-correction became similar among good and poor readers.That is, when text is very difficult everyone is more likely to make errors and increase their rate of self-correction.On Levels of Reading Comprehension Woolley (2011) claims that reading is a twoway process that combines information from the text-based model with information from prior knowledge using inference.On the other hand, Gamboa (2014) believes that instruction for word recognition is a critical process for students.Some students continue to struggle with derive meaning or acquiring knowledge from text in spite of possessing sufficient word recognition skills.Additionally, these students experience greater difficulty in upper primary grades seeing attention switch from learning to read to reading to learn.Particularly, the students encounter problems about finding main idea, making predictions, using background knowledge, making connections, creating mind images, asking questions , drawing inferences, and summarizing information.The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement.In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis.Reading ability is determined by many factors, and requires the development of certain skills through early reading instruction to attain initial success and build on it.Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it and understand its meaning.An individual's ability to comprehend a text is influenced by his traits and skills, one of which is the ability to make inferences (De Certaeau, 2010).Moreover, Alonzo (2005) states that students should be expected to extend the ideas in the text by making clear inferences from it, draw conclusion and make connections from their own experience including other reading experiences.Lutkus, Rampey and Donahue (2005) also say that students should be able to extend the ideas in the text by making clear inferences from it, by drawing conclusions, and by making connections to their own experiences including reading experiences.Lifehack (2004) declares that to achieve reading comprehension, the reader should read every day, and use skills such as generating the ideas and information in the selection, and looking for the answers while reading.In addition, Neufeld (2006) and Mercurio (2005), as cited by Jude and Ajayi (2012), believe that to achieve reading comprehension, the reader should employ skills such as identifying the main idea of a passage, summarizing the context of a text, generating questions about the information in the text and looking for clues that answer those questions.Furthermore, Vacca (2005) contends that learners must work with print in an effort to explore and construct meaning and that reading is first and foremost a conversation, a give and take process, between the reader and the text.However, the burden is always on the reader.Moinzade and Salari (2015) disclose that reading comprehension among 120 Iranan EFL learners involves highly complex cognitive processing operations.Teaching English to language learners especially on how to read is a vital issue in their current educational policy and practice.While many students do well in literacy, several English language learners tend to exhibit lower academic achievement especially in reading.When second language readers read second language texts, they are encountering difficulty in processing them; they may get frustrated with reading, and experience anxiety.Derk (2012) asserts that comprehension means understanding what is being said or read.When it comes to reading, it is an active process that must be developed if a learner wants to become a proficient reader.Effective reading skill development is further accomplished when the learner becomes proficient in literal, inferential and critical comprehension reading.The first level of reading is literal which has been defined by Roundy ( 2014) as what the text simply says.It is what actually happens in the story.This is a very important level to understanding because it provides the foundation for more advanced comprehension.Without understanding the material in this level, you could not go any further.He explicates level concerns itself with why the author says what he or she says.This high level of comprehension requires the reader to use some external criteria from his/her own experience in order to evaluate the quality, values of the writing, the author's reasoning, simplifications, and generalizations.
The reader will react emotionally and intellectually with the material.The literal level comes out with understanding and absorbing facts, the interpretive level concerns underlying implications, and the applied level focuses on translating topics into realworld situations.Jude (2012) affirms that literal comprehension is technically the basic form of reading comprehension that involves understanding facts and descriptions that are found in the text.Questions on literal comprehension simply engage students to locate information that are already explicit in the reading material.Inferential level of comprehension presupposes the ability to process the information in the text and be able to reach a conclusion about the reading material.Inferential level deals with what the author means by what is said.The reader must simply read between the lines and make inferences about things not directly stated.Again these inferences are made in the main idea, supporting details, and cause and effect relationships.Inferential comprehension could also involve interpreting figurative language, drawing conclusions, predicting outcomes, determining the mood, and judging the author's point of view (Cherry, 2016).Huggins (2009) states that critical comprehension is more than evaluating quality of the text or stating an opinion about it and requires readers to make judgments about what they are reading based on an evaluation of several text-grounded factors, such as the quality of the writing, the determination that it is fact or opinion, the objectivity of the author, and whether the text is believable.Abdullah (2008) then confirms that a critical reader has achieved the state of critical comprehension when he or she is satisfied that the inferences or meaning obtained from reading, that includes evaluation of the information presented by style, language tone and mode of writing, is consistent with his or her own interpretation, when all contradictions are resolved.According to Turner (2008) the skills involved in critical reading are one of the highest levels in the hierarchy of reading skills if there is any hierarchy at all.Finally, Davis 2015 says that application or evaluative reading level is often referred to as "beyond the text" and includes "big picture" comprehension.Often there are no right or wrong answers but rather justification for thinking in a particular way.

On the Development of Learning Material
According to Kellough (2005), the detailed planning for teaching and learning is carried out for several reasons, but the most important one is to ensure curriculum coherence.The workbook or learning material in particular, serves as an agenda for the teacher, a helpful aid for substitute teachers and a useful record for use in the future when teaching similar lessons and classes.
Further, it provides information on the quality of teaching and learning, and what the teacher and students could do to improve the standard of their performance.Barry and King (2007) take the discussion a step further and explain that the keeping of a learning material in any subject area is an administrative requirement.It shows the coverage of work relative to similar classes at both school and national levels.With this information, the educational administrators such as head teachers are able to assess the work of the teacher as well as that of the students and suggest ways of reinforcing the strengths and addressing the limitations.Richard et al. (2010) contend that effective planning at the school level begins with curriculum development and passes through the scheme of work and units of work to the weekly workbook, learning materials, and daily lesson plans.In the same way, Dodd (2000) explains that there are three main elements in the process of preparation.First, there is the syllabus, which tells the teacher, in broad outline, what aspects of its subject are to be covered annually.Second, there is the scheme of work, which is the detailed version of the syllabus, a learning material that addresses the specific needs of a class and the school community.The third element is the lesson plan that shows clearly how the lesson is to be taken in the time prescribed by the school timetable.These three elements, according to Dodd, integrate and interrelate to ensure that there is continuity in the teacher's teaching and the child's learning.In preparing and presenting lessons, it is also important for the teacher to include the approaches suggested by Bloom (1956).Likewise, Gibbs (2002) emphasizes that the design for the development of a module, workbook or any learning material uses a blended pedagogy, combining traditional classroom teaching with e-learning, as part of seeking to utilize all strategies for encouraging students to be independent learners.Influence of workbooks, learning materials on monitoring student progress, delivering formative feedback and guiding students' independent learning was explored.The development of learning materials presents student perceptions of how this educational approach influences learning and enhances their learning experience.The activities in the learning materials were designed to prompt learners to draw on knowledge and skills acquired during teaching sessions; provide opportunities for reflection; application of theory to practice; and development of a deeper understanding.When faced with this new mode of learning, 75% of respondents agreed that the workbooks and other learning materials increased independent study.Chall (2006) affirms that the earliest stage of reading readiness encompasses the skills that young children usually ages 4-6 acquire before they can profit from formal reading instruction.Children with 4 to 6 years old acquire knowledge of the language and of letter names; they learn that spoken words are composed of separate sounds and that letters can represent these sounds.At younger ages, children also learn about other aspects of written language.They can distinguish their script from that of other languages; recognize commercial logos, engage in "pseudo reading" with familiar books, and so on.It has been suggested that these early "reading" behaviors contribute to later reading success. .Schmidt and Retelsdorf (2016) in their research article on a new measure of reading habit: going beyond behavioral frequency, offers a rubric to measure reading frequency in which the maximum is "more than 2 hours daily", and the minimum is "up to 30 minutes daily".One to two hours of reading is relegated to the fourth scale in a five-scale range.Smith (2008) declares that teaching reading is one of the most challenging yet enriching tasks since reading is the key to learning.Traditional approaches to dealing with reading problems such as tracking and grade retention do not help.Instead, expose the child to varied reading materials that could ignite his interest in reading, simple to complex until he develops his reading performance.Relative to the above, exposure to music could affect the reading skills of the students.Music, like any written language, give students that same limitless power felt as a 5-year-old first entering a world filled with words.The key to this hidden realm within music is sight reading.The constant practicing, studying, and challenges that make up a music-learning experience are the perfect ingredients for sight reading success.(https://www.musicalu.com/learn/sight-reading-music/).According to the article Reading Children Science (Canete, 2007)", reading is said to help the child become familiar with sounds, words, language and the value of books.Their imagination is stimulated; they learn to breakdown words into their most basic sounds called decoding.Sanklin (2004) asserts that growing body of evidence suggests that reading problems are preventable for learners who receive extra support in the form of early reading activities.On the other hand, Walker (2002) states that in kindergarten or first grade, whose ages are below six (6) years old are often given readiness tests that measure abilities in language, knowledge of letter names, a skill in matching words and letters.Slavin (2004) articulates that literacy is a relatively recent addition to human culture.Humans have used oral language for perhaps 4 million years, but the ability to represent the sounds of language by written symbols.However, the expectation in today's society is that 100 percent of the population will be able to read and comprehend.We live in a society where the development of reading skills serves as the primary foundation for all school based learning.Those who do not read well find limited opportunities for academic and occupational success.Although the expectation that all children will read and comprehend is understandable, we are a long way from reaching this goal.

On the Profile of the Students
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (2008), 38 percent of fourth graders in the United States cannot read at a basic level.This means they cannot read and understand a short paragraph of the type found in a simple children's book.Based on Lyon (2011), a child who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is unlikely to be a skilled reader in high school.In fact, research has shown that we can predict, with reasonable accuracy, students' future academic success by their reading level at the end of third grade.Shaywitz (2003) upholds that even though reading is an acquired skill and not a natural process, most people do become fluent readers, but not without a lot of work.
Learning to read is a long, gradual process that begins in infancy.Basic competency usually is not reached until middle childhood.As reading researcher, professor and director of the Yale Center for Learning and Attention, added: "Reading is the most complex of human functions; his age is a determining factor".In the article of Marshall (2013), it is stated that if a student is struggling with reading, the teacher should take the necessary steps to check for possible learning disabilities.It could be influenced by factors such as the profile of the students, the school or his community.In the article, "Bridges to Literacy," (Rosenkoetter and Barton, 2001), it is established that reading emerges after instruction, in children who are well nourished and thriving in safe abodes and neighborhoods, in children who are nurtured by strong families who receive the services they need from living in caring communities.Ericta (2012) states that in the Philippines, about 58 million (86%) of the estimated 80 million Filipinos aged 10 to 64 years old are functionally literate, meaning they can read, write, compute and comprehend.This is based in 2010 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS).It is reported further, that the 2012 functional literacy of 86.4 percent is slightly higher than the 2011 FLEMMS survey result of 84.1 percent.She concluded that literacy is much higher to persons who have completed high school or higher education.Medina (2000) discloses that the majority of reading problems faced by today's adolescents and adults are the result of problems that might have been avoided or resolved in their early childhood years.It is imperative that steps be taken to ensure that children overcome these obstacles during the primary grades.Reducing the number of children who enter school with inadequate literacyrelated knowledge and skill is an important primary step toward preventing reading difficulties.Although not a panacea, this would serve to reduce considerably the magnitude of the problem currently facing schools.Estabillo (2008) contends that children who are particularly likely to have difficulty with learning to read in the primary grades are those who begin school with less prior knowledge and skill in relevant domains, most notably general verbal abilities, the ability to attend to the sounds of language as distinct from its meaning, familiarity with the basic purposes and mechanisms of reading, and letter and knowledge.Tizon (2004) states that children from poor economic status neighborhoods, children with limited proficiency in English, children with hearing impairments, children with preschool language impairments, and children whose parents had difficulty learning to read are particularly at risk of arriving at school with weaknesses in these areas and hence of falling behind from the outset.Catts & Hogan (2008) confirm that many children learn to read effortlessly; however, there are a great number of children who have difficulty acquiring reading skills and need additional support or specialized instruction.Conditions that place children at risk for reading difficulties include poverty, cultural and linguistic differences, neurologically-based problems, inadequate instruction, limited development-enhancing opportunities, or familial history of reading disabilities.Snow, et al. (2008), affirm that reading in any language poses a challenge, but reading in English is particularly difficult.For example, some language systems, such as the Japanese katakana, are based on a system where each syllable is represented by a written symbol.When these symbols are learned, the child can read with relative ease.Spoken English, on the other hand, has approximately 5,000 different possible syllables.Written English uses a system of letters-an alphabet-to make up a spoken syllable.A letter alone does not refer to anything.It must be combined with other letters to represent a meaningful unit or syllable.The child must learn this complex alphabetic system in order to be able to decipher written words.Tierney (2001) states that reading is a complex process that requires the learner to interact with print on many levels, the type of reading material one reads.It has long been acknowledged that effective word recognition skills are fundamental to proficient reading.Word study addresses not only word recognition, but also vocabulary, spelling, word-level grammatical concepts and effective word choice.These areas work in tandem to help learners develop into mature readers and can be categorized as Independent reader.

Significance of the Study Ministry of Education.
As the findings may serve as proof that the provision of instructional materials to teachers as well as students will certainly help in reducing the learning difficulty of the students.Because as the results show using instructional materials help students to be more responsive if the teacher uses creative and innovative materials.
School Administrators.as the findings may help them initiate more meaningful seminar workshop on developing different instructional materials.
Primary Education Teachers.as the findings may help them in selecting the most suitable instructional materials which they can use in teaching reading to their students.It may also help them in developing more creative and effective instructional materials.Primary Education Students.as the findings might ensure a much higher possibility of learning to read.Being exposed to a variety of instructional materials help them learn more because these materials serve as a motivating factor for them.
Parents. as the findings of the study may help them in choosing appropriate reading materials for their children.
Researcher.This paper will assist the researcher in gaining knowledge and awareness in the field of study, as well as emphasize the significance instructional materials to teaching-reading of primary education children.
Future Researchers.This will serve as a means for future researchers as an additional reference who will undertake a study related to this topic.This may be useful in gathering relevant information as well as in designing and implementing research projects, particularly instructional materials in teaching reading to primary education children.

Theoretical Framework
This study will measure the level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading.Instructional materials are child friendly materials, wherein they can manipulate them or they can playwith it.Sometimes these materials are common to them, they can see it but they don"t know how to use them.
There are theories that served as the basis of this study .First one is Lev"s Vygotsky Socio -Cultural Theory states that students learning could be more effective if it is provided with support or scaffold .Information processing theory supplies the scaffold which is also a cognitive theoretical framework that focuses on how knowledge enters and is stored and retrieved by our memory .Cognitive psychologists believed that process influences the nature of what is learned .They considered learning as largely an internal process not an external behavior change.They looked into on how we receive, perceive, store and retrieve information.Sangui (2002) pointed out some assumption in the instructional aid for effective and efficient teaching process.This study also stick to to the constructivist theory that says; providing materials is more effective for the opportunities of the students to assess ideas; gives time for students to create connection among concepts and the use of higher level rooted assessment.
The above-mentioned theories are strong contributing factor in providing substantial information regarding the rationale of this study.For clarity the researcher focused on the materials used in teaching reading in relation to the student"s reading performance.
Furthermore this study will serve as link between the teacher"s instructional materials used and its effect to the teaching and learning process.

Conceptual Framework
Demonstrates the Operational Framework of the study showing the input, process, and output in measuring the level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials used in teaching reading to primary education children.Primarily, the study shall identify the demographic profile of the respondents, as well as the different instructional materials used in teaching reading and related theories to this study.Data shall be collected using questionnaires and the document analysis of related literature.Data gathered from the study shall be scrutinized and interpreted using proper statistical measure.As an output, this study will have an assessed level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials used in teaching reading.

Statement of the Problem
The primary intention of this study is to determine the level of effectiveness of different instructional materials used in teaching reading to primary education children of selected government schools in China.
Specifically, it will try to find the answer to the following questions.
1. What is the profile of the respondents with respect to: 1.1 Sex; 1.2 Civil status; 1.3 Age; 1.4 Educational attainment; 1.5 Years teaching in government school; and 1.6 Monthly Income? 2. What is the level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials used in teaching reading? 3. What is the level of frequency of using the different instructional materials used in teaching reading? 4. What are the elements of incorporating questions to be considered in selecting instructional materials?

Definition of Terms
The following terms will be conceptually and operationally defined for a better understanding of the study.
Action Songs.are songs with actions that students enjoy mimicking.They awaken the students' interest.Audio-visual.is a combination of devices which appeal to the sense of both hearing and seeing such as television, motion picture and the computer.Assessment.a process of evaluation or judgement as to the level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials.Basal readers.are stories that are arranged by grade level and come with an instructional manual and workbooks for the students.Big Books.They provides informative lessons for story time reading.The colorful illustrations will help students develop their listening comprehension skills.They are enlarge story books.Chapter books.tell stories that captivate the reader's imagination.Comprehension.understanding the text a reader has read.Curriculum.a course of study Effectiveness. the capability of producing a desirable result.Flash Cards.are card that has words, numbers, or pictures on it and that is used to help students learn about a subject Instructional Materials.are different tools used in teaching learning process.They serve as the scaffolding between the learning content and the learner.Non-Readers.learners who were struggling to read.They barely recognize letter sounds.Inability to produce sounds hinders them to read a simple word.Phonics. it is the science of sounds.Picture trade books.are widely used among classrooms and are typically read aloud to students.Poetry books.have rhythm and rhyme, which help invite students to read them time and time again.Poems can be used to begin a lesson, or they can be read orally.Readiness.being prepared in doing something willingly.Scaffolding.serves as the foundation that holds two ends ,in education it is considered as an instructional technique used by the teacher in teaching learning process.

Strategy. a certain method or technique
Teacher Made Resources.are simple materials made by the teacher that are designed to the level of the students.Textbooks.are designed for a certain grade level, depending upon their topic.They contain specific information that sometimes can make comprehension difficult.Students usually need prior knowledge or an overview before really understanding the content.Traditional Books.Any book, workbook or textbooks used in classroom.These materials are used in introducing concepts.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study
The study focused on the effectiveness of the different materials used in teaching reading to first grade children of selected government schools in China.The study was limited to seventy eight (78) primary education teachers which will represent the population.It would be done through the utilization of questionnaire to the teachers as a survey and reference.Timeframe is one of the limitations of this study therefore, the researcher alloted two weeks time in May 2023 for data gathering.The researcher will be distributing questionnaires using online forms to primary education teachers.

Methods and Techniques of the Study
The descriptive research method was employed in this study.Descriptive research, also known as statistical research, describes data and characteristics about the population or phenomenon being studied.
The main goal of this type of research is to describe the data and characteristics about what is being studied.The idea behind this type of research is to study frequencies, averages, and other statistical calculations.Although this research is highly accurate, it does not gather the causes behind a situation.Descriptive research is mainly done when a researcher wants to gain a better understanding of a specific topic.It is a scientific method which involves observing and describing the behavior of a subject without influencing it in any way.
The researcher used this type of research method because her primary aim is only to determine the level of effectiveness of the different instructional materials and not to compare and contrast the extent of effectiveness of each material .Because these materials are all effective depending on how teacher presented it to the learners.
The researcher used the convenience sampling in choosing the respondents because some teachers in the schools she selected were here classmates and common friends .It would be more convenient for the researcher to collect necessary data if she is acquainted with her respondents.

Respondents of the Study
Primarily, a permit to conduct the survey among the government schools in China was sought from their respective school administrators and primary education teachers.Upon approval of the concerned individuals, questionnaires were reproduced and distributed through online forms to the seventy eight (78) teacher -respondents.Cooperation and utmost confidence were sought from the respondents to be able to gather the necessary data.They were further assured on the confidentiality of their responses and the purpose of the study.Furthermore, the researcher will seek the assistance of a statistician to determine the final sample size of the respondents to produce a reliable statistical results for the study.

Instruments of the Study
The primary research instrument used in this research is a survey questionnaire.A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions, and other prompts to gather information for the profile, awareness, accessibility, and understanding of the respondents.Data collections were made through consolidation from online survey form.The researcher utilized social media platform like We Chat to distribute instrument, and gather data.This questionnaire is composed of three parts.The first part of the questionnaire is focusing on the demographic profile of respondents and the last part focuses on the questionnaire of the research subject.All the necessary information in the instrument was checked and approved before it was administered to the respondents.The questionnaire checklist was the main instrument used by the researcher in the study to gather the necessary data and information from the respondents.
The researcher-prepared survey questionnaire was presented and validated by the thesis adviser, with evaluation from experts in the field of primary education.A former teacher in primary education, and currently teaching research was also asked an to give comments and suggestions to validate the appropriateness and quality of the instrument.It tells that the set of items in each variable is closely related to each other as a group.

Data Gathering Procedure
The researcher will utilize the survey methodology to gather data, wherein participants will complete the survey questionnaire through online forms.The survey questionnaire will be disseminated to the teachers in China within a span of two (2) weeks.Utilizing data gathered from appropriate literature and other pertinent sources will support the research assertion.Respondents who consent to partake in the survey will not undergo interviews if the collected data demonstrates adequate coherence for analysis.Data collection will be conducted using the following procedures: 1.The survey questionnaire will be sent to a group of specialists for the purpose of validating the research instrument.2. The research instrument will be submitted to the Graduate School Office for permission for the dissemination of the survey questionnaire.3. A formal request letter will be written to the Human Resource Manager of the chosen vocational schools in China, seeking permission to gather data.The letter will also clarify that there is no conflict of interest between the parties involved in conducting the research.4. Once the human resources manager gives consent, the researcher will distribute the questionnaires to the respondents via online forms.The researcher will elucidate the strict adherence to the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in regards to maintaining the confidentiality of the information collected from the respondents.5.The researcher will verify whether all the items will be completed for the implementation of the study following a ten-to fifteenminute period of response from the participants in order to prevent any undue stress on their behalf.6.The researcher will ensure that a duplicate of the result will be given to the study location.

Data Processing and Statistical Treatment
In order to present, organize, analyze and interpret the data gathered with accuracy and scientifically, the following statistical tools were utilized: frequency counts, percentage, weighted mean, simple ranking, arithmetic mean, verbal description and verbal interpretation, and arbitrary set of five (5) point evaluation scale.
Frequency Count and Percentage.These two were utilized to present the profile of the respondents when classified according to age, gender, civil status, religion, educational attainment, monthly income and teaching experience.
Weighted Mean.This was used to determine the teacher"s health profile preference given the formula:

Table 4 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents According Sex
As to sex, all of the respondents are female with a frequency of 78 or 100.00%As indicated in civil status, married had a frequency of 59 or 75.64% ranked 1; single had a frequency of 16 or 20.51%, ranked 2; widow/er had a frequency of 2 or 2.57% ranked 3; and separated had a frequency of 1 or 1.28%.

Civil Status
Majority of the respondents were married.As to highest educational attainment, majority of the respondents are graduates of Bachelor in Science in Primary and Secondary Education.More than half of the respondents had a 10 years below length of service as teacher in government school.As to monthly income, 10, 000-20,000 had a frequency of 41 or 52.56% ranked 1; 21, 000-30,000 had a frequency of 36 or 46.15% ranked 2; and 31, 000-40,000 had a frequency of 1 or 1.82% ranked 3.

Monthly Income
Most of the respondent's monthly income ranges from 10, 000-20,000.The monthly income of the teacher is significant to be included as data in this study because, the burden in producing these instructional materials lies on the teacher's financial capacity.
If the teacher can't sustain these materials which are so expensive the instructional materials she will be using are affected.Teachers must develop the student's love for poetry by exposing them to different poetry books.Teachers must present it in a manner that the student's will be fascinated.Such as; through pictures, action, role playing and with proper intonation.It obtained a composite mean of 3.97 interpreted as often.

What is the level of frequency of using different instructional materials used in teaching reading?
As per result of the study pictures and flashcards are always used by the teachers because they less expensive and easy to produce or make through teacher's creativity.
Teachers are so resourceful even empty boxes can be use as flashcards, for pictures they can draw easily.
Technological materials were used sometimes because they are so expensive Teachers cannot afford to buy it using their own money because of low compensation.Since the department of education is not providing it, one is to one ratio per classroom.So, teachers take turns in using it.

Composite Mean 4.30 Agree
As shown, Materials fit the objectives had a weighted mean of 4.55, strongly agree, ranked 1; Material suitable to the reading level of students had a weighted mean of 4.50, strongly agree, ranked 2; Materials are well-organized had a weighted mean of 4.35, agree, ranked 3; Materials been presented in a technically appropriate manner had a weighted mean of 4.28, agree, ranked 4; Materials are well designed had a weighted mean of 4.26, agree, ranked 5; Difficulty of the material match the ability of the students had a weighted mean of 4.22, agree ranked 6; Materials prepare the students for the presentation had a weighted mean of 4.17, agree ranked 7; Materials provide sufficient repetition had a weighted mean of 4.06, agree ranked 8.A composite mean of 4.30, interpreted as agree.
As the result shows, the questions; do the materials fit the objective and is the material suitable to the reading level of the student got a strongly agree response because before the teacher uses any material she should primarily set her objectives and assess the reading ability of the student from there she can now decide on what material to be used.
Does the difficulty of the material match the ability of the students question got a lowest response because there is no difficult material if the teacher explained well on how the students should answer.

Summary of Findings
Among the important findings of this research are:

The profile of respondents 5.1.1.1 Sex;
As to sex, all of the respondents are female with a frequency of 78 or 100.00%

Civil Status;
As indicated in civil status, married had a frequency of 59 or 75.64% ranked 1; single had a frequency of 16 or 20.51%, ranked 2; widow/er had a frequency of 2 or 2.57% ranked 3; and separated had a frequency of 1 or 1.28%.
Majority of the respondents were married.

Age Status;
As per age status, 36-40 years old had a frequency of 18 or 23.08%, ranked 1; 31-35 years old had a frequency of 13 or 16.67%, ranked 2; 46-50 and 51-55 years old had a frequency of 12 or 15.38% both ranked 3.5; 41-45 years old had a frequency of 9 or 11.54%, ranked 5; 25 years old and below and 26-30 years old had a frequency of 5 or 6.41% both ranked 6.5 and 56-60 years old had a frequency of 4 or 5.13%, ranked 8.
Out of 100%, 23.08% of the respondents belong to age bracket of 36-40 years old.

Educational Attainment;
As shown, BEEd / BSEd graduates had a frequency of 39 or 50.00% ranked 1; With master's units had a frequency of 36 or 46.15% ranked 2; with units in education had a frequency of 2 or 28.57% ranked 3; and graduate with master's degree had a frequency of 1 or 1.28% ranked 4.
As to highest educational attainment, majority of the respondents are graduates of Bachelor in Science in Primary and Secondary Education.

Number of Years in Teaching in Government School;
As to number of years teaching in government school, 10 years below had a frequency of 40 or 51.28% ranked 1; 11-20 years had a frequency of 20 or 25.64% ranked 2; 21-30 yearshad a frequency of 13 or 16.67% ranked 3; 31-40 years had a frequency of 4 or 5.13% ranked 4 and 41-50 years had a frequency of 1 or 1.28% ranked 5.
More than half of the respondents had 10 years below length of service as teacher in government school.
Most of the respondents monthly income ranges from 10 ,000 -20,000.

The level of effectiveness of Different Instructional Materials in Teaching Reading
As to weighted wean and rank of respondents as to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, Pictures had a weighted mean of .83,very effective, ranked 1; Flashcards had a weighted mean of 4.72, very effective, ranked 2; Activity Sheets-Teacher Made Resources had a weighted mean of 4.60, very effective, ranked 3; Technological Material -ICT and poems and action songs had a weighted mean of 4.47, both ranked 4.5; Big book/ story book had a weighted mean of 4.42, effective, ranked 6; Workbooks had a weighted mean of 3.97, effective, ranked 7; Textbooks had a weighted mean of 3.95, effective, ranked 8; Graphic organizer had a weighted mean of 3.94, effective, ranked 9 and poetry books had a weighted mean of 3.50, effective, ranked 10.
As to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, most of the respondents believed that most of the millennial students are visual learners.A composite mean of 4.68, interpreted as very effective.

The level of frequency of using instructional materials in teaching reading
As per result, Flashcards/ pictures had a weighted mean of 4.68, always, ranked 1; Teacher made resources had a weighted mean of 4.56, always ranked 2; poems/action songs had a weighted mean of 4.15, often ranked 3; Big book/ story books had a weighted 3.94, often ranked 5; Graphic organizer had a weighted mean of 3.60, often ranked 6; Technological materials had a weighted mean of 3.10, sometimes ranked 7. Respondents always used flashcards/ pictures as their materials in teaching reading.
It obtained a composite mean of 3.97 interpreted as often.

The elements of incorporating questions to be considered in selecting instructional materials
As shown, Materials fit the objectives had a weighted mean of 4.55, strongly agree, ranked 1; Material suitable to the reading level of students had a weighted mean of 4.50, strongly agree, ranked 2; Materials are well-organized had a weighted mean of 4.35, agree, ranked 3; Materials been presented in a technically appropriate manner had a weighted mean of 4.28, agree, ranked 4; Materials are well designed had a weighted mean of 4.26, agree, ranked 5; Difficulty of the material match the ability of the students had a weighted mean of 4.22, agree ranked 6; Materials prepare the students for the presentation had a weighted mean of 4.17, agree ranked 7; Materials provide sufficient repetition had a weighted mean of 4.06, agree ranked 8.A composite mean of 4.30, interpreted as agree.
6. Conclusions 1.All of the respondents are female, mostly married, they belong to age bracket of 36-40 years old, majority of the respondents are graduates of Bachelor in Science in Primary and Secondary Education, more than half of the respondents had a 10 years below length of service as teacher in government school and receiving a monthly income of 10,000 -20,000.
2. As to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, most of the respondents believed that most of the millennial students are visual learners hence the variety of materials used in the classroom is proven effective in teaching reading.
3. As per result, Flashcards/ pictures often used as their materials in teaching reading on the primary education government schools in China.
4. As shown, the top ranked responses were materials fit the objectives; material suitable to the reading level of students; and materials are well-organized are the factors to be considered in selecting instructional materials.

Recommendations
In the light of the findings from the research, the following recommendations were drawn from the study: 1. Scarcity of instructional materials have been a major problem in government schools.The Ministry of Education should support and sustain these instructional materials both to teachers and students as well.It should ensure the availability of these materials needed by the teachers and students.
2. Parents and guardians should expose their children to several types of reading materials that will help them improve their genuine love for reading.
3. For teachers to combat non-readers they have to be open for some innovation and invent various instructional materials that can help first grade students become readers.
4. Teachers should always take into considerations the reading level of the child before using an instructional material.Materials to be used should be suitable to objectives. 5.There are still other theories that can be related in this study aside from socio-cultural theory and constructivist theory.
6.For future research study about this topic the researcher can compare and contrast the effects of the different instructional materials used in teaching reading.The researcher can use comparative research method instead of descriptive method.
7. Purposive convenience approach is easier to deal with but there are some other methods to choose from.Perhaps future researchers can use random sampling method of choosing respondents.It is more conclusive although a little bit challenging.
8. If the school have teacher respondents in every grade level there would be a big difference on their responses because teachers in lower grades use materials which are not similar to higher grades .If pictures are very effective in grade-one maybe in higher grades they are not.
Obtained weighted mean were interpreted based on the standard scale with referenced verbal interpretations specifically used in the study.

4. 6
Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data 4.6.1 What is the profile of the respondents with respect to: 4.6.1.1Sex

Table 6 Frequency and Percentage Distribution of Respondents According to Age Status
; 25 years old and below and 26-30 years old had a frequency of 5 or 6.41% both ranked 6.5 and 56-60 years old had a frequency of 4 or 5.13%, ranked 8.Out of 100%, 23.08% of the respondents belong to age bracket of 36-40 years old.
As per age status, 36-40 years old had a frequency of 18 or 23.08%, ranked 1; 31-35 years old had a frequency of 13 or 16.67%, ranked 2; 46-50 and 51-55 years old had a frequency of 12 or 15.38% both ranked 3.5; 41-45 years old had a frequency of 9 or

Table 10 Weighted Mean and Rank of Respondents as to Effectiveness of Different Instructional Materials Commonly Used in
As to weighted mean and rank of respondents as to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, Pictures had a weighted mean of 4.83, very effective, ranked 1; Flashcards had a weighted mean of 4.72, very effective, ranked 2; Activity Sheets-Teacher Made Resources had a weighted mean of 4.60, very effective, ranked 3; Technological Material -ICT and poems and action songs had a weighted mean of 4.47, both ranked 4.5; Big book/ story book had a weighted mean of 4.42, effective, ranked 6; Workbooks had a weighted mean of 3.97, effective, ranked 7; Textbooks had a weighted mean of 3.95, effective, ranked 8; Graphic organizer had a weighted mean of 3.94, effective, ranked 9 and poetry books had a weighted mean of 3.50, effective, ranked 10.As to effectiveness of different instructional materials commonly used in teaching reading, most of the respondents believed that most of the millennial students are visual learners.A composite mean of 4.68, interpreted as very effective.As per result pictures were very effective because children are very captivated with pictures especially if pictures were colorful.They love to draw and color pictures.On the other hand, poetry books were the least effective among the instructional materials because children feel bored if the books, they read were all text.Almost all poetry books do not have pictures.It does not captivate the attention of children.Although these poetry books were good materials if teachers were trying to develop reading comprehension

Table 11 Weighted Mean and Rank of Respondents as Frequency of Using Instructional Materials in Teaching Reading Indicators Weighted Mean
As viewed in table 10, Flashcards/ pictures had a weighted mean of 4.68, always, ranked 1; Teacher made resources had a weighted mean of 4.56, always ranked 2; poems/action songs had a weighted mean of 4.15, often ranked 3; Big book/ story books had a weighted 3.94, often ranked 5; Graphic organizer had a weighted mean of 3.60, often ranked 6; Technological materials had a weighted mean of 3.10, sometimes ranked 7. Respondents always used flashcards/ pictures as their materials in teaching reading.