Improving 5th Grade Weak Readers' Reading Skills With Interactive Reading Activities

The aim of this study was to improve the reading skills of struggling 5th-grade readers through interactive reading activities. The research employed action research, one of the qualitative research methods. The study was conducted with 5th-grade students at a public school located in the Trabzon province. During the research process, the data collection tools used were "reading comprehension tests, researcher journals, observation and interview forms, and a reading prosody rubric." Content analysis and descriptive analysis methods were used for data analysis. The analyses revealed three main themes: development, resistance, and change, as well as five sub themes: fluent reading, reading comprehension, attention, interaction, and approach, related to the interactive reading process. While the study found that interactive reading activities improved students' fluency, they were not sufficient enough to bring their reading comprehension up to the desired instructional level. Based on these findings, it was concluded that while the interactive reading method contributed to the development of reading comprehension skills, it was not enough on its own to reach the instructional level. Furthermore, the study determined that interactive reading activities reduced participants' reading errors. Qualitative data findings also revealed that interactive reading activities increased students' interest and motivation towards reading, reduced their aversion to books, and improved the quality of their interactions with peers.