This is a paper presentation by Dr. Dhanya C S and Prof. (Dr.) Geetha Janet Vitus on the effect of Reading Comprehension Package with Rich media in English on Upper Primary Students. Here the investigator gives a detailed explanation of the methodology she used, her findings and further suggestions in this area.

1. DR. GEETHA JANET VITUS
Assistant Professor
Department of Education
University of Kerala
Thycaud, Trivandrum 14
E-mail: andrew.geetha@gmail.com
MS. DHANYA C. S.
Research Scholar
Department of Education
University of Kerala
Thycaud, Trivandrum 14
E-mail: dhanus555@gmail.com

2. Reading occupies a special place in the language
skills, the other components being listening, speaking
and writing. According to Charles Scribner Jr.,
“Language is the soul of intellect and reading is the
essential process by which that intellect is cultivated
beyond the commonplace experiences of everyday
life.”

3. The term 'reading' means a complex system of deriving meaning
from print that requires:
 The skills and knowledge to understand how
phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print.
 The ability to decode unfamiliar words.
 The ability to read fluently.
 Sufficient background information and vocabulary to
foster reading comprehension.
 The development of appropriate active strategies to
construct meaning from print.
 The development and maintenance of a motivation to
read.

4. The National Reading Panel (2000) has identified five essential
components of reading instruction
 phonemic awareness;
 phonics;
 vocabulary development;
 reading fluency, including oral reading skills; and
 reading comprehension strategies.

5. Studies have demonstrated that the acquisition of
phonemic awareness is highly predictive of later reading success
and that phonemic awareness abilities in kindergarten appear to
be the best single predictor of successful reading acquisition. The
investigators have observed students struggling to read in English
and the reason can be attributed to inappropriate instruction at
the lower levels. Studies have shown that technology based
programs not only increase children’s motivation but also improve
students’ comprehension and production of text in multimedia
styles. It may be concluded that most reading failure is
preventable and most high-risk students can improve their
reading and writing achievement with expert and effective
instruction and hence the study investigates the effect of
Multimedia Based Animated Reading Comprehension Package
with rich media in English for children.

6. When the MMG (Multimedia Group) and
NMG (Normal Method Group) are exposed to
treatment, there will be significant difference
in the pre-test and post-test achievement
scores in reading comprehension of Upper
Primary Students.

7. To test the effect of Multimedia Based Animated
Reading Comprehension Package in English on
Upper Primary Students by comparing the pre-
test and post–test achievement scores of Reading
in English.

8. Experimental Method

9. 40 students from Upper Primary
Schools

10. 1. Multimedia Based Reading Package in English
2. Achievement Test

11. t-Test

12. 1. There is no significant difference between the means of two
groups with regard to pre-test achievement scores.
2. As the achievement scores differ significantly with respect to post-
test scores, we can infer that students in MMG are significantly
higher in academic performance owing to the effect of Multimedia
Based Animated Reading Comprehension Package with rich
media in English.
3. As the scores differ significantly with respect to pre-test and post-
test scores, it is inferred that students in MMG are higher in
academic performance when compared to NMG, the better result
of post-test owing to the effect of Multimedia Based Animated
Reading Comprehension Package with rich media in English.
4. This study also found that comprehension passage with rich
media could not only improve students’ reading comprehension,
but also motivate them with the multimedia-based instruction.

13.  More participants from elementary schools should be
included to make the study more objective and representative.
 To understand what difficulties children may encounter,
researchers could diagnose young learners’ problems of
reading as well as vocabulary; then take appropriate measures
to promote not only students’ reading abilities but also their
achievement.
 Collect the opinion of teachers regarding the effect of Reading
Comprehension Package with rich media in English on Upper
Primary level and understand their attitude on it in the UP
level.

14. Adams, M.J., (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and learning about print.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report
of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read (NIH Publication
No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Yopp H.K., Yopp, R.H., (2000). Supporting phonemic awareness development
in the classroom. Reading Teacher, 54, (2) 130-146.
www.nifl.gov
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