1
TEACHING READING OF NARRATIVE TEXT BY COMBINING DIRECTED
READING THINKING ACTIVITY (DRTA) STRATEGY AND THREE MINUTE PAUSE STRATEGY
AT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Rafki Ahmad *)**) Elmiati Staff Pengajar Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat
ABSTRAK
Penulisan makalah ini bertujuan untuk membantu mengatasi permasalahan yang ada pada siswa dan guru dalam proses pembelajaran dan pengajaran membaca Bahasa Inggris pada sekolah menengah atas (SMA).
Selain itu, makalah ini juga menjadi sebuah masukan bagi guru-guru Bahasa Inggris dalam melaksanakan pengajaran membaca, sehingga siswa tertarik dan termotivasi untuk belajar bahasa inggris. Dalam makalah ini, penulis membahas tentang bagaimana mengajar membaca dengan penggabungan strategi antara Directed Reading Thingking Activity (DRTA) dan Three Minute Pause. Dalam pengaplikasiannya, penggabungan strategi ini diawali oleh bimbingan guru yang melibatkan aktifitas siswa dalam proses pembelajaran, yang mana pertama siswa diberikan penjelasan tentang materi yang diajarkan oleh guru dan instuksi-instruksi yang berkaitan dengan materi yang akan di ajarkan. Kedua, siswa diminta oleh guru untuk membentuk kelompok atau pasangan untuk mendiskusikan materi yang telah diberikan oleh guru berupa teks yaitu teks Narative. Ketiga, guru meminta siswa untuk memahami materi yang telah diberikan yaitu memahami judul teks yang diberikan dan menjawab beberapa pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan teks tersebut. Keempat, guru meminta siswa untuk membaca teks dan memahami isi atau informasi yang ada dalam teks tersebut. Kelima, siswa diminta untuk mengambil kesimpulan dalam memahami isi atau informasi dalm teks dan meminta siswa mengidentifikasikan beberapa kata yang menarik dan juga kata- kata yang kurang dipahami setelah siswa membaca teks tersebut. Untuk mengetahui lebih jelasnya tentang pengaplikasian kedua strategi ini, penulis juga mengutip beberapa pendapat para ahli tentang penggunaan masing-masing strategi. Penulis berharap makalah ini berguna bagi para pembaca dan khususnya pada guru Bahasa Inggris sebagai salah satu metode alternatif yang diterapkan dalam proses pembelajaran membaca.
*) Penulis
**)Pembimbing
2 INTRODUCTION
Reading is one of important skill that is learnt by students in their learning process. The main purpose of reading is to get information.
During reading a text, there will be an interaction between the students and the text where the students trying to find information or knowledge related to the text which is read. In order to get information well, they should have reading comprehension skill or must comprehend the content that have been read by them.
Reading comprehension is an activity that has purpose to get information from written text in fully understanding. In other words, students should find information that found in the text. If they have good comprehension skill, they will understand well about what they have been read.
To make students in good reading comprehension skill, it is needed a teacher who has a really good understanding in teaching reading process.
Teaching reading is a process where a teacher teaches students how to comprehend the text, the topic of the text, main ideas, and identify other information from the text. This is not easy because the teachers has to find the appropriate way about how to guide the students to comprehend the text, find the topic, main ideas and identify some information related to the text.
If the teacher has been able to find and provide the students the appropriate way in guiding the students to comprehend the reading text and to find some information related to the text, then the students will be easy in comprehending the text and catching some important ideas related to the reading text that is being learnt and finally the goals of reading will be achieved.
However, based on writer’s experience when he did teaching practice program (PPL) at Senior High School of SMA N 1 Gunung Tuleh, West Pasaman, he found that there were some problems that were happened both of teachers and students in teaching reading process. Those problems can be seen in following explanation.
From the students, the students were lack vocabulary; the students did not know the meaning of almost of the words in the text. In this case, the students did not find the topic, main idea on the text. In addition, the students did not know the information of the text. These cases made the students were less motivation to read the text because they could not catch content of the text. It made the students felt bored in learning activity and the students were busy with their activities
like talking and doing other tasks. From the teachers, the teachers did not consider to teaching aids of materials that were given to the students in teaching reading. In this case, the teachers did not apply the appropriate strategy based on the materials. In teaching activity, teacher only gave the text to students. Then, the teacher asked students to read aloud by each student in the classroom. Next, the teacher constructed some questions that must be answered by students.
Finally, both of teacher and students discussed the text in the ending of teaching learning process.
To solve the problems above, the teacher should find a good strategy to help the students in comprehending the texts. If the teacher uses appropriate strategy in teaching process, the students will have motivation to understand or comprehend about content of the texts. In this paper, the writer gives information to the teachers about implementation the appropriate strategies by combining two strategies in teaching reading for Senior High School. The strategies are Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) and Three Minutes Pause. In this case, DRTA strategy is an instructional strategy in which the teacher reads to the students from variety of genres in oral reading. Then, Three Minutes Pause strategy is a strategy to help the students to comprehend the text by taking a break analyzing what they are reading. These strategies are combined by the writer in teaching reading. The reason why the writer combines both of the strategies in teaching reading is to help the students in understanding a text in reading. In points that the teacher can guide the students to find the information from the text and the students understand about content of the text. Besides that, the teachers can also make the students have motivation to enjoy reading activity in the classroom because the students can catch the points what is the text about. Finally, the learning goals can be achieved by students in learning English.
In addition, the teachers should choose the appropriate topic that will be discussed in teaching learning process. In this case, there are several topics that can be tough by the teachers for level senior high school. The topics are Descriptive, Recount, Narrative, Report, and Analytical Exposition text. In this paper, the writer applies these strategies in teaching reading of Narrative text.
3 From the explanations above, the writer
identifies the problems into teaching reading of narrative text by combining Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) Strategy and Three Minutes Pause Strategy for Senior High School. It hopes that the students can understand content of the text by applying these strategies in teaching process especially for reading activity.
REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE Definition of Reading
Carter et al. (2001:144) define that reading is a process that requires students to master concepts in personal way. It can do familiarity with subject, background, life experiences, and interpretation for words and phrases affect understanding. It means that in learning reading, the readers need to combine their prior knowledge with their existing knowledge to comprehend what is being read. It will show that every student has different own ability in comprehending what is being read based on their own background knowledge.
Reading which becomes a students’
compulsory subject. At this point, need to be able finding the real message that implies in passage.
In addition, Brown (2003:7) defines that reading is an understanding of the author of a printed reading passage. It means that reading is ability to anticipate meaning in lines of print, so that the reader does not concern on the mechanical details but with grasping ideas from groups of words that convey meaning. The readers just not always follow the lines but they can understand meaning of words.
Reading is not only about read the text, sentence by sentence but a process of getting in information and the way that how to understand about the text that they read. Moreover, Brassel and rasinski (2008:15) define that reading is a multidimensional process that involves the eyes, the ears, the mouth, and most importantly, the brain. It means that reading is one of the processes to get much information. In other word, by reading students must be focus on the text so that they can understand what the text tells about.
Reading and text are two parts that can not be separated. At this because different text or the kinds of text that will influence the students reading comprehension. Furthermore, Seyler (2004:3) states that, reading is cluster of words found in meaning, not necessarily in complete
sentences. Means, Reading is a complex progress in which the recognition and comprehension of written symbols are influenced by readers’
perceptual skills, decoding skills, experience, language backgrounds, mind set, and reasoning abilities as they anticipate meaning on the basis of what has been read.
In conclusion, reading can be defined as an individual’s total inter-relationship with symbolic information. It points that reading is communication process requiring a series of skills. As such reading is a thinking process rather than an exercise in eye movements. Effective reading requires a logical sequence of thinking or thought patterns require practice to set them into the mind.
Teaching Reading
According to Harmer (1998:70) there are some principles of teaching reading, as following explanation:
1. Reading is not passive skill.
Reading is an active skill because everything what we have read we will find the meaning and try to find what the purpose of the writers itself in his or her books.
2. Students need to be engaged with what they are reading.
The students will get much information from what they are if they have interest with topic of reading.
3. Students should be encouraged to respond content of the text.
It means that, the students not only know the structures of the language but the students should be able to understand the contents of the text and understand an important part in every paragraph.
4. Prediction is a major factor in reading.
This principal points that, prior knowledge of the students is important to explore the content of what they are read with regard to relevant guidance by paying attention to the title, subtitle, and synopsis of the story. The teachers should help the students by providing appropriate instructions, by that they can predict content of the text easily.
4 5. Match the task with suitable topic
Selecting of interesting text and more tasks that are imaginative can help the students to increase their motivation to comprehend the text.
The teacher give tasks to the students must be related to the text that they are studying.
6. Teachers exploit reading text to the full.
A text is usually a sentence that implied and unapplied, the word, an idea, that in pointed out by the author in writing. In this case, the teacher should pose in interesting activity for the students to understand the important part of the text.
Narrative Text
Narrative text is a kind of the genre which tells about the story that comes from the people’s imagination. This text has purposes to entertain and to amuse the reader. According to O’malley and Lorrain (1996:137), narrative text is a personal or imaginative expression in which the writer produces stories or essays. From the theory the writer concludes that narrative text is one of kind of the text that explain about the imagine or fiction of the text where the students can imagine of the story. Furthermore, Zumakhsin and Yulia (2005:29) state that the purpose of telling a narrative is to entertain, amuse, teach, a lesson or moral, explain something or make a comment.
They added there are many types of writing they can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy tales, mysteries, scienfiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, and personal experience.
Generic Structure of Narrative Text
According to Seoprapto and Darwis (2006:11) the generic structure of narrative text are: firstly, orientation. In orientation tell about the character, setting and time of the story.
Secondly, evaluation, in evaluation it is stepping back to evaluate the plight of the story. Thirdly, complication, it is tells about the problems of the story or problems of main characters. Fourthly, resolution, it is tells about the solution of the problem and also ending of the story. Fifthly, reorientation or coda, it is the message of the story or moral that the story.
Moreover, narrative text has some generic structure to guide the writer in reading the story it has been explained by Pardiyono (2007:96) state that narrative text has four elements as follow: first, orientation it is about activity and the events of the story. Second, sequence of events, which is problematic that lead to conflict-climax. Confli]ct and climax in the story use sequence markers; firs, second, third, etc. Third, resolution, it is about the problem solving of the conflict in the story. And last one is coda; it is about the moral lesson on the story.
DRTA (Directed, Reading, And Thinking Activity) Strategy
In teaching reading, the teacher should ask the students to understand or comprehend a text. In this case, the students should have chance to find the main idea of the text. In order to know what the writer tell on the text. Besides that, the student must improve their ability to find the important information of the text. According to McKenna (2002:88), DRTA is a strategy that used by the teacher to engage the students actively before they read, while they read, and after they have finished reading. In reading the student can think about a text before they read, and they can find some information of the text and focusing on the purpose reading activity. In addition, the teacher asks the students to understand the text and use illustrations, title, subheadings, and graphics to make a prediction about what the topic of the text. The teacher also asks the students to explain how they understand their prediction. Besides that, the teacher asks the students to think about their prediction and either maintain or revise them.
Procedure of DRTA (Directed, Reading, And Thinking Activity) Strategy
In teaching reading, the teacher should know and understanding how to apply DRTA strategy. Besides that, the teacher must be creative to apply this strategy in reading class.
According to McKenna (2002:88), some steps of DRTA strategy in teaching reading as follow:
a. Teacher introduces the material to the students, so the students can do about what they will study.
b. Teacher asks the students to study about the title, picture, subtitle, chart, maps, graphs,
5 summaries, conclusions, and
end of the chapter questions, and introduction.
c. Students make hypothesis about what they think will happen and why.
d. Teacher asks the students to make decision about what is known after reading of the text, and then they must make specific question of the text.
e. Teacher asks the students to find their prediction and then they must answer their question.
f. Teacher asks the students to check their prediction in individual or in group hypothesis. In reading, the students must define their inferences referring to the text or change the answer to their questions.
Three Minutes Pause Strategy
Three Minute Pause Strategy is designed to help the students monitor their comprehension at given times while silent reading. Marzano and Pickering in Jonathan Erwin (1997:138) state that three minutes pause is an excellent strategy to help students make connections to their own lives or to make meaning out of a manageable amount of new learning. Thus, they add that three minutes pause strategy is one way of creating pulse learning. It means stopping ten or fifteen minutes during a classroom activity and asking to the students reflect on it and verbalize about they have learned.
Furthermore, the aims of three minute pause strategy can help the students in mastering the content of the text. It is supported by Mctighe and Lyman in Linworth (2007:105) three minute pause is a strategy to help the students to comprehend the material by taking a break analyzing what they are reading. The premise is to read or have the students reading. The premise is to read or have the students read for three minutes is stop and following: 1) summarize the key points so far in the text, 2) add though, and pose 3) clarifying questions. By utilizing this strategy, the students can successfully process of the text while they are reading as apposed after
reading. In concluding, this strategy will assist the students in making connections to their own background knowledge as well as learning from their peers.
Procedure of Three Minute Pause Strategy The procedure of three minute pause is a steps the process to be done the strategy by the teacher. Buehl (1997) states there are some steps in using three minute pause strategy in teaching reading, they are:
a. Ask students to think about what they are hearing, viewing or reading, and do pause every minutes, it is called with “doing a save”.
b. During three minute pause, the teacher ask students to summarize, questions, and identify interesting information what they have learned, it can do in their partner.
c. Create class discussion, they discuss the topic in pairs and share their thought to whole class.
DISCUSSION
Combination of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) and Three Minutes Pause Strategies
After understanding the used of both of the strategies, these strategies can be improved students’ reading ability especially to understand or achieve the content of the text by applying these strategies in teaching learning process especially for reading activity. In this case, the writer would like to discuss through combining of Directed Reading Thinking Activity and Three Minutes Pause strategies for tenth grade student Senior High School. There are several steps that can be applied in teaching reading by combining both of the strategies. First, the teacher introduces the materials to the students. Second, the teacher organizes the students into pairs. Third, the teacher asks the students to study about the title, pictures, subtitles, charts, maps, graphs, summaries, conclusion, ending of chapter questions, and introductions. Fourth, the teacher asks the students to read a passage or text a few minutes to make hypothesis about they think will happen and why. Fifth, the teacher asks the students to make decision about what is known after reading the text such as; summarize what
6 just read, identify something interesting, and
indentify anything confusing.
In addition, the students should create good atmosphere among the students especially for each group. It is useful to make the students enjoy the learning process and the learning goal can be achieved by the students because the teacher implements the combining both of the strategies. In this case, the teacher should have a plan before explaining the materials to the students such; preparation, implementation, and closing of teaching learning process.
Preparation
In teaching process, preparation is the crucial aspect that should be done by the teacher before coming to the classroom. In this case, the teacher should have a good preparation to make the students easy to understand the materials.
Besides, by using appropriate strategy in teaching reading, the teacher prepares a clear lesson plan in teaching learning process. There are four aspects that should be considered by the teacher in conducting a clear lesson plan;
1. Teaching goal
Goal is important aspect. It will be used to know the teacher success in teaching process. It points that the teacher knows that what should be taught as purpose of teaching process. Thus, the learning goal should be mastered by the students especially in reading activity.
2. Selecting and choosing the materials
In developing the materials, the teacher can find new source to support the materials that will be given to the students. It is aimed to make the students get more knowledge that are related to materials and the students are easy to understand because learning goal can be gotten in the materials.
3. Media
Media is very important in teaching process. It is used to make the teacher easy to transfer the materials for students. In this case, media should be related to the materials. By using the media, the teacher can make activating of students’ prior knowledge about the materials. In addition, the teacher should select the media before
bringing into the classroom. Thus, this paper will be useless if the teachers do not use the appropriate media in teaching process.
4. Time location
As we know that, there are some parts of leaning process such as pre teaching, whilst teaching, and post teaching. In this case, the teacher should have ability of time management in teaching process. It is useful to create clear activities.
For instance, a whole time is 2x45 minutes. The teacher can divide the time in teaching process; pre teaching 15 minutes, whilst teaching 60 minutes, and post teaching 15 minutes.
Procedures
Pre-Teaching Activities
Pre-teaching activity is the activities that are done by the teacher in the beginning of teaching process. It is aimed to stimulate the students’ knowledge, information, and concentration to begin the study. The activities are:
a. Teacher greets the students b. Teacher checks the students’
attendance list
c. Teacher brainstorms the students through some pictures Whilst-Teaching Activities
Exploration
1. The teacher introduces the materials to the students. (DRTA)
2. The teacher organizes the students into a pairs. (Three Minutes Pause)
Elaboration
1) The teacher asks the students to learn about the title, pictures, subtitles, charts, maps, graphs, summaries, conclusion, ending of chapter questions, and introductions. (DRTA) 2) The teacher asks the students to read a passage or text few minutes to make hypothesis about they think will happen and why. (Three Minutes Pause)
7 3) The teacher asks the students to make
decision about what is known after reading the text such as; summarize what just read, identify something interesting, and indentify anything confusing. (Three Minutes Pause) Confirmation
1. Teacher asks the students whether they have really understood about the text that is being learnt.
2. Teacher gives reinforcement and reward toward the students’
achievement Post-Teaching Activities
In post teaching, the teacher does some steps as follow:
1. Teacher and the students conclude the material
2. Teacher asks the students’ difficulties about the material that has been studied.
3. Teacher closes the teaching and learning process.
Conclusions
Based on what have discussed in the previous chapter, the writer concludes that reading is one of the main four skills from in English besides listening, speaking and writing.
Through reading, the students will get many advantages, such as gaining a lot of information’s, improving their knowledge, solving a new problem and getting the new ideas by understanding what they read. The students should comprehend the text, so that it can make them understand about the text. It also addresses to Senior High School students, where they study many kinds of the texts at school. It means that the students should be able to comprehend the text.
In contrast, some of students still have some problems in comprehending the text. One of them was caused by strategy in teaching reading itself. To solve these problems, the teacher should have appropriate strategy in teaching reading such as this combination of Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) and Three Minute Pause strategy. This strategy is really effective to be used to solve the students’ problem in teaching reading.
Moreover, the teacher combines the Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) and Three Minute Pause strategy for Senior high school. Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) as a strategy to help students develop the ability to determine a purpose for reading in order to extract, comprehend, and make decisions based on information gained from reading. During DRTA, students are involved in some steps: first, predicting as defining a purpose for reading.
Second, reading and selecting relevant information from the text, and. Last, evaluating and revising prediction using the information that has been read. The Three minute pause provides a break a block of instruction in order to provide time for students to summarize, clarify, and reflect on their understanding through discussion with a partner or small group. A thee minute pause is especially helpful when large amounts of information need to be processed for understanding. Three minute egg timers are used to keep track of time. All students end their discussion at the same time, bringing their attention back to the teacher to facilitate the next steps in learning.
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