The Reading Level of Key Stage 2 Learners as Basis for a Differentiated Reading Program

Assessing the reading profile of the learners is necessary for the teachers and parents to meet the individual literacy needs. Along with this context, this study was conducted to investigate the reading level of the key stage 2 learners, explore the reading activities accorded by the stakeholders, identify the difficulties encountered in developing the reading level of the learners, and devise sets of differentiated reading activities. This descriptive research involved the intermediate pupils of Gubat South District for School Year 2023-2024, with their teachers and parents who were taken as samples through the stratified sampling technique. It was revealed that most of the key stage 2 learners were not ready in terms of reading proficiency in English while in their second language which is Filipino, most were grade-ready. Their teachers exposed them to various reading resources, peer tutoring, and reading-aloud activity. Meanwhile, their parents oftentimes assisted their learners in the performance of literacy homework, provided reading materials, and consistently piqued children’s interest in reading. These parents were challenged by the excessive use of electronic devices, unrestrained viewing of television by their children, and the high cost of reading resources which resulted in decreased literacy engagement. Proposing a differentiated reading program consisting of developmentally appropriate literacy activities is found to be a potential scheme for developing the learners’ reading level and the possible literacy catch-up mechanism.