Improving reading skills of primary school 3rd grade students with reading difficulties through fluent reading techniques supported by web 2.0 tools: An action research

In the study, the change of fluent reading techniques supported by Web 2.0 tools in the fluent reading skills of a 3rd grade primary school student with reading difficulties was examined. The research was conducted with the action research design, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The sample of the study consisted of 3rd grade students in a village school in Manavgat district of Antalya province. The student could not learn to read in the first grade because he/she did not participate in distance and face-to-face education activities implemented due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the 2020-2021 academic year. Again in the 2021-2022 academic year, although the student learned to read to a certain extent because he did not attend the second grade regularly, he lagged behind his peers and could not show sufficient academic development. Although the student has no cognitive and physical disabilities, he makes reading errors when reading closed and open syllables formed with rounded vowels and has stuttering. The data of the study were collected in 84 lesson hours of 40 minutes each for 16 weeks in the spring semester of the 2022-2023 academic year. As data collection tools in the study, the Inaccurate Analysis Inventory developed by Ekwall and Shanker (1988) and May (1986) and translated into Turkish by Akyol (2013), paired reading evaluation form, repeated reading diary, video recordings, researcher diary, validity committee records, and Prosodic Reading Scale were used. Seventeen narrative texts and four poems were used in the application, and expert opinion was obtained from the validity committee about the text, comprehension questions related to the text and the applications prepared on Web 2.0 tools before the application started. In order to determine the reading level of the student, reading aloud in three different texts was practiced in the pre-application and the application was recorded with a video recorder. The student's level was determined according to the Incorrect Analysis Inventory, and an action plan lasting 16 weeks was implemented by determining the student's reading speed, correct reading percentage, prosodic reading and comprehension level. In the application, after recording the student's first reading of the text in each text, echo reading was combined with Web 2. 0 tools such as Voki, ChatterPix Kids, Plotagon, Bookcreator, Storyjumber, Padlet and echo reading, and the student was tried to gain word recognition, word discrimination and prosody skills as well as ease of pronunciation. After the echo reading study, Web 2.0 tools such as Wordwall, Wordart, Canva, I am Puzzle, Quickworksheet, Crosswordlabs, Bubbl.us, LearningApps, Educandy, Educaplay, Maze generation were combined with paired reading to create fun applications that increase vocabulary automaticity, reduce misreading errors and improve reading comprehension. In addition to paired reading and Web 2.0 tools, word box technique was used. After paired reading, repeated reading activities were conducted to ensure error-free reading with applications prepared in Wordwall, Pixon, Storyboard that and Bookcreator Web 2.0 tools. Paired reading and repeated reading data were entered into the paired reading evaluation form and repeated reading diary and the course of the study was monitored. After the reading comprehension questions were answered, the text was proofread and according to the proofreading, both the status of the practice and the prosodic elements were evaluated according to the Prosodic Reading Scale. The whole process was recorded with a video recorder and all data were regularly sorted for 16 weeks and forms and scales were filled in according to the video recordings. The qualitative data of the study were analyzed according to content analysis. In the study, as a result of the measurements made to determine the student level before Web 2.0 supported fluent reading strategies were applied, it was determined that the student was at the "Concern Level" according to the Error Analysis Inventory in all three texts, and after the Web 2.0 supported fluent reading strategies were applied and the 16 week process was completed, it was determined that the student level reached the "Independent Level" in all four texts in the texts applied in the preapplication and in another newly applied text. In these texts, it was determined that the student's reading speed reached the determined level, the correct reading rates reached the "Instruction" level from the "Concern" level, the prosodic reading skills reached the sufficient level, the reading comprehension level reached the "Reasonable" level from the "Concern" level, and it was concluded that Web 2. 0 supported fluent reading techniques improved the fluent reading skills of 3rd grade primary school students with reading difficulties.