The Problem of the Development of Reading Literacy of Primary School Students: Methodological and Methodical Aspects

Abstract

The problem of the reading literacy development of primary school students remains relevant in the modern educational space. Most of the theoretical reviews and practical recommendations aimed at solving this problem are based on the concept of reading literacy proposed in the PISA tests. When teachers developing methodological recommendations for the development of reading skills, they often lose sight of the fact that PISA texts and tasks are aimed at control, and not at the development of reading literacy. The authors of the international system for monitoring reading literacy apply the method of working with text when learning a foreign language and focus on information skills. If we use a similar technique to work with text in our native language, we will violate the patterns of perception and understanding of what is read, described in the studies of psycho- and sociolinguists. That is why the article discusses the methodological grounds for correcting the methodology for developing the reading literacy of primary school students. Based on the theory of speech activity, sociolinguistic studies of the text and the provisions of functional stylistics, the processes of perception and understanding of the text in the native language are described, the necessary components of meaningful reading are identified, which makes it possible to ensure progressive movement from a more primitive level of understanding of the text to a deeper one. Diagnostics of reading skills in sixth graders was carried out, gaps in the reading actions of students were identified. As intermediate results of the study, methodological materials for the development of reading literacy are presented, they are developed taking into account the described methodological foundations and difficulties found during the diagnostics. The continuation of the experimental work will make it possible to correct the content and methods used in methodological practice for the development of students’ reading literacy when working with texts in their native language. Keywords: reading literacy, text, reader actions, theory of speech activity, reading as a type of speech activity, text perception, text understanding, text interpretation