Indicators of Reading Comprehension: Example of Narrative Text and Open Ended Question

Abstract

Reading comprehension is a mental skill that requires establishing connections between the content of the text and the individual's prior knowledge. The purpose of the current study is to examine the reading comprehension levels of primary school fourth grade students based on their answers to open-ended questions about a narrative text in relation to different variables. The current study employing the descriptive survey model was conducted with the participation of 115 primary school fourth grade students from a city in the Central Anatolian Region of Turkey. An inventory consisted of 10 open-ended questions based on a narrative text was used to collect data. The level of reading comprehension of the students participating in the study was found to be in the stage of transition from the difficulty level to the instructional level and this level can be expressed as insufficient. Although the students' reading comprehension levels do not vary significantly according to the gender variable, girls' reading comprehension levels are higher than boys. Through open-ended questions, it is easy to observe how students structure their answers, how they manage the process of constructing the meaning of the text, and what they focus on in the text. In this way, strategy teaching and activity design can progress more concretely in order to improve students' meaning construction skills. In addition, it provides the teacher with a good opportunity to get acquainted with students whose understanding skills are at the instructional level, realize their approach to text and question, and provide individual support to the student. The results of the current study provide consistent and meaningful data for new research and educational practices in schools.