IMPROVING STUDENTS’ READING SKILL IN NARRATIVE TEXT BY USING

BIGBOOK STRATEGY

By

NAME : NUR FARIDA

NIM: 14188203080

DEPARTMENTOF ENGLISH EDUCATIONAT STKIP - STIT PGRI PASURUAN

2017
 ABSTRACT

Farida, Nur 2018. A Study on Teaching Reading Narrative Text by Using Big Book.

Unpublished S-1 Thesis STKIP PGRI Pasuruan.

Key Words : Teaching Reading, Narrative Text, Big Book

Reading is one of the important skills in learning language. By reading a lot, they can
learn more because reading is the road to get knowledge. The researcher has several purpose
to know teachers’ preparation, the way of teacher in teaching, students’ opinion and how the
teachers’ evaluate.

Teaching reading is an activity that tries to help someone to acquire, charge or

develop skill attitude dealing with appreciation and knowledge. Big book is media used
researcher.

This researcher belongs to qualitative descriptive research, the research observed and
described about the process of teaching reading narrative text.

Based on the result of instrument, shows that English teacher made the preparation
like lesson plan, syllabus, instractional media, material, evaluation form. The teacher also
used a big book as media to increase the student interest.

Finally the researcher concludes that the teaching reading narrativ text by using big
book was good. It showed the teacher preparation was complete. The students have to be
diligent to practice their mastery of vocabulary by reading in new topic and memorize it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study

Reading is one of four basic skills in English which is important because it is the basic
to learn English, so it must be developed. In Junior High School curriculum, reading is one of
the competence standards conducted to the students. But most of the students say that reading
is difficult and many kind of texts must be learned by them. Reading is certainly an important
activity for expanding knowledge of a language. Hence, the students are expected to
understand the content of reading text by reading comprehension skill.
Reading comprehension is the thinking process used to make meaning of what a
person reads. It goes to show that making meaning from text needs process. Comprehension
is a complex process that demands much from the reader. The National Reading Panel
defines comprehension as the intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed
between the reader and text. It implies that the reader interacts with the text content, using his
or her vocabulary, background knowledge, skills, motivation to read that text, knowledge of
text structure, and strategies to construct meaning.
Noticed in “Teaching Reading Comprehension Skill", Vicky Zygouris- Coe give
some effective strategies to enhance reading comprehension. Visualizing is the one of those
effective strategies. Visualizing involves students making mental images of the text they read
(e.g., processes, events). Creating images that relate to the setting, characters, or plot of a
narrative text, or a concept or process in expository text, can help students better recall what
they have read. It’s supported by Cain’s statement about visualizing as one of some effective
strategies to enhance reading comprehension.
Talking about visualizing as one of some effective strategies to enhance reading
comprehension, an English teacher of junior high school uses narrative Bigbook to teach
reading comprehension in classroom. Big-Book is a book which has a big size as well as the
font. Due to the size which is different from ordinary books, Big-Book can be seen easily
from all part of the class. Besides, it has also colorful series pictures inside to help students
became more understand about the content of the story or even stimulate students’
imagination. Narrative big book is really helpful for teaching and learning process. As the
teacher said, that using narrative big book could attract students’ interest in reading activity in
the class.
 There are some researcher which deal with big book. Research finds that big book and
narrative scaffold can help students to achieve ability in writing narrative text. Other five
researches focus on using bigbook to improve students’ reading skill, especially for students
in primary school. They find that big book is really effective to improve students’ ability in
reading. The last one, Susan and Barbara in their research find that by using big book, foreign
language teacher candidates developed effective skills in teaching reading that include the
development and use of a big book and the thematic unit that accompanied it.
This research takes Junior High School students as the subject in teaching-learning
process of reading comprehension using narrative big bookas researcher knows that this study
hasn’t been assessed. Then, while those fiveprevious studies about improving reading skill
for students of primary school,this research describes how the way to implement narrative big
book in teaching reading comprehension in upper level students who live in rural area and
seldom meet English in their daily life.
From some reasons mentioned, the researcher is interested to conduct this
research using CAR design. Then the researcher entitles this research with “ improving the
students’ reading skill by using big book in narrative text”

1.2 Statement of the problem

In this study, the researcher addresses specific problem dealing with narrative
Bigbook in teaching reading comprehension as follow “What are the students’ responses to
the implementation of Narrative Bigbook in teaching reading comprehension at the grade of
Junior High School ?”

1.3 The purpose of the study

Based on the research problem above the study is intended to know how using the real
object can improve the students’ reading skill in narrative text.

1.4 Scope and Limitation of the study

This study confines itself to the implementation of narrative big book in teaching
reading comprehension. This research did not observe the whole dimension of teaching
reading comprehension, but it’s only the process using narrative big book in teaching reading
comprehension. The research focuses on investigating the way implement narrative big book
and students’ response on junior high school students’ level.
1.5 The Significance of the study
By conducting this study, the researcher hopes it can give the big some benefit as the
practical implication of the study to the teachers, readers, and other researcher as follows.
1. Teacher
The result of this research significantly serves other teachers generally and English
teacher specially to have strategies in improving some techniques in teaching English,
such as teaching reading comprehension using big book. Then this research can give
information to other English teachers that Big book can be used to teach reading for upper
grade, for example Junior high school and Senior high school, because Big book is
popularly used for teaching in primary school.Then they can apply narrative big book to
make their students more interesting and active in learning and teaching activities.
2. Readers
This result can give some information about narrative big book for the readers. The
readers include parents, students and the other people in general. For parents they can
absorb some learning about the teaching media and they can apply for their children.
3. The other researcher
It is useful for the other researcher in additional references for their similar research to
conduct the furher research dealing with using narrative big book to teach reading
comprehension.

1.6 Definition of key Terms

The researcher lists the definiton of important terms used in this study so that can help
the readers understand the main or the idea easily. In this early discussion, the researcher find
out the terms that should be recognized first by the readers.
1. Big Book
Big book is a book which has a big size as well as the font. Besides, it has also
colorful series pictures inside to help students became more understand about content of
the story or even stimulate students’ imagination. Big book can interest and understand
about the content.
2. Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension is the students’ ability to understand the meaning,find the
main idea or purpose and to catch information from the passage. Indeed, based on Block’s
theory, reading comprehension meant in this study is reading skill which has purpose to
understand the content of the text and it must be achieved by students as their skill in
learning reading.
3. Narrative Text
Narrative text is a text focusing on spesific participants. It is social function is to tell
stories or past events and entertain the readers.
 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The researcher presents some concept about curriculum for Junior high school,
definition of reading, teaching reading, preparation of teaching reading, the objective of
teaching reading, problems in teaching reading, media, bigbook and narrative text.

2.1 Curriculum based on KTSP

In the course of history since 1945 (Independence Year), the national curriculum of
Indonesia had undergone changed into several times, namely in 1947, 1952, 1964, 1968,
1975, 1984, 1994, 2004 and the latest curriculum of KTSP 2006 (best understood as School
Based Currriculum), "those amendments are logically consequences of "political issue,
government system, social cultural, economic, science and technology" changes in the living
of state community" (Soekisno, 2007, para. 1). Therefore, the curriculum as a set of
educational plans should be developed dynamically in accordance with the demands and
changes that occur in society. All Indonesia's national curriculums were designed based on
the same foundation, namely Pancasila (Philosophical foundation of the Indonesian Republic)
and the 1945 constitution, the principal differences among those curriculums were only on
emphasizing of educational goals and approaches to realize it.

Continuing to improve the quality of education in order commensurate with others

development countries, Indonesian government has made various changes, and continues to
review the implementation of education in Indonesia. As known, the National Education
Standards of Indonesia (BSNP) had regulated through Government Regulation (PP) No. 19
Year 2005 set eight contents of the Standards of Education, specifically Content Standard,
Standard Process, Graduates Competency Standards, Educators Standards and Education
Workforce, Infrastructure Standards , Management Standards, Financial Standards and
Evaluation Standards.

Simultaneously through that Government Regulation No.19 year 2005 affected to the
direction of Indonesian curriculum development policies to implement its Content Standard
(SK) and Graduate Competency Standard (SKL) where then being established through the
Regulation of The Minister of National Education: Number 22, 23, 24 year 2006. These three
regulations then further elaborated to be "KTSP" (School Based Curriculum) which is built
and developed by each educational unit or school in Indonesia.

According to Azumardi Azra (2006) explained that the changes in education in

Indonesia means that there are two new paradigms emerged in education, shifting the
orientation of the policy where previously being centralized to decentralized, then national
education is more oriented to the learning process rather than results. Decentralized system
means to implement the new breakthrough of School-Based Curriculum where much known
as KTSP in Indonesia.

KTSP which is then translated to be School-Based Curriculum (SBC), this kind of

curriculum replaced its predecessor of Competence Based Curriculum (KBK) 2004. Mulyasa
(2008) viewed nearly in every turn of the Ministry of Education will probably changes the
curriculum.

Its change of curriculum had implicated and affected the national education system of
Indonesia; it had not only affected the learning climate in the classroom, as well as the
readiness of the principal and subject teachers in effort to understand and apply the practice.
In addition, Sutrisno & Nuryanto (2008) viewed that the implementation has not optimally
practice as a sequence of educational perpetrators who think KTSP differ with KBK.
Meanwhile Suhadi (2006) argued in such of that assumption due to a priory attitudes and
psychological resistance against the changes. Whereas the changes enhancing the operational
practice of curriculum which are developed and implemented by each schools consisting of
their own respective goals, local content perspectives, educational calendar and syllabus.

KTSP which was being mandated by Ministry of National Education Indonesia

(MoNE) through The National Education Standard Institution (BSNP) means to reinforce the
implementation of its predecessor (read: KBK), it implies that KTSP still put pressure on
developing students competencies, according to Fasli & Bachruddin (2007) said that KTSP
implementation will not be undergoing through a public test, because this curriculum has
been tested through KBK which was being applied by several schools in a pilot project before
the born of KTSP. This is then a following-up toward curriculum change in the context of
regional autonomy and decentralization of education programmed by the government of
Indonesia. The implementation of this curriculum is focused on three dimensions of student's
enrichment of knowledge (cognitive), attitude formation (affective) and behavior
(psychomotor).

On KTSP the school and teacher have an authority to decide the educational goals
based on their own schools perspective, in other words, teacher have duties on: (1) construct
and formulate the proper goal, (2) choose and construct the right lesson material according to
the needs, interest and children development phase, (3) using various methods and teaching
media, (4) and construct the program and the right evaluation. A curriculum should be made
systematically and detail, which will ease the teacher on its implementation.

However, KTSP faces major challenges related to integrate of local information,

national, and international. Combining these integrations may only be solved by having
resources which are prepared ahead of time, not by the teachers who prepared instantly
through a variety of curriculum development assistance programs. More dangerous if the
schools eventually just offered cheat or trace the guidelines were offered by National
Education Standard (BSNP). If so, SBC will create the instant schools, stunted creativity
while it's very contrary to the mandate of the KTSP.

Some of the reasons behind the needs for this research include (1) KTSP
implementation needs to be evaluated simultaneously through qualitatively and
quantitatively, and (2) the results of that evaluation can be made as the basic information for
all policy decisions relate to educational elements in Riau Province especially at Indragiri
Hilir Regency.

2.2 Definition of Reading

Reading is one of the language skills that should be learned by the students. It is a
learning process of transferring information from the writer to the reader in written form. The
author is the sender of information, ideas and the reader is the receiver of the message. For
decoding process by a reader, the reader moves from graphology (letter) to semantics
(meaning). Therefore, the aim of reading is to attain an optimal level of comprehension of
meaning. Reading gives many advantages for students because they can receive more
information after reading. The information paragraph consists of words and sentences to
build the meaning of the content of reading material. Through reading the students can get
information that they need.
 Bamberger (1975: 13) states that reading is enjoyable when it is carried out
efficiently and effectively; it will be useful and rewarding experience. It can provide the
students with interesting information as well as helping them improve their English mastery.
Reading is very important especially for elementary students in getting the authors idea when
they are reading a text and beside that the students get information and knowledge from the
reading material, for example concerning new vocabulary, different functions of new words
in classification words, and the style of the authors in expressing ideas. Raja (2001: 2) said
“as one of learner characteristics, age has often been taught of as a major factor determining
success in learning a second or foreign language. He also adds that language learning process
is affected by both learners’ characteristics and learning condition which determines the
quality of the learning outcomes. Thus, it is clear that the characteristics should be taken
under consideration before teaching and learning be conducted.

2.3. Teaching Reading (©2003, 2004 The National Capital Language Resource Center,
Washington, DC )

Teaching is also represented for increasing the awareness of English importance as a

vital tool in transferring knowledge to enlarge the knowledge. Reading is not only based on
the topic that is being discussed but is also a good reading from the messagers arrangement,
thinking plot and generic structure. In teaching reading there are goals and techniques for
teaching reding.

2.3.1 Goals

To accomplish this goal, instructors focus on the process of reading

 They develop students' awareness of the reading process and reading strategies by
asking students to think and talk about how they read in their native language.
 When working with reading tasks in class, they show students the strategies that will work
best for the reading purpose and the type of text. They explain how and why students
should use the strategies.
 When working with reading tasks in class, they show students the strategies that will work
best for the reading purpose and the type of text. They explain how and why students
should use the strategies.
 2.3.2 Technique of Teaching Reading

In here Instructors can help their students become effective readers by teaching them how
to use strategies before, during, and after reading.

Before reading: Plan for the reading task

 Set a purpose or decide in advance what to read for

 Decide if more linguistic or background knowledge is needed
 Determine whether to enter the text from the top down (attend to the overall meaning)
or from the bottom up (focus on the words and phrases)

During and after reading: Monitor comprehension

 Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses

 Decide what is and is not important to understand
 Reread to check comprehension
 Ask for help

After reading: Evaluate comprehension and strategy use

 Evaluate comprehension in a particular task or area

 Evaluate overall progress in reading and in particular types of reading tasks
 Decide if the strategies used were appropriate for the purpose and for the task
 Modify strategies if necessary

2.4 Preparation for Teaching Reading

The teacher must be able to follow and ready for material which be taught. In other
that the teacher must make syllabus, lesson plan, and evaluating form ( feedback ). Eight out
of 10 students successfully grasp the skills they need to become effective readers. The other
two, however, struggle with core concepts and are at risk of falling further and further behind.
Getting all students on track and reading at the best of their ability is possible, provided the
teacher has the right tools and techniques to make it happen.
 Teacher trainers and principals can take four important steps toward helping teachers
improve students' reading outcomes:

 First, provide materials and professional development opportunities that highlight the
latest evidence-based best practices and approaches.

 Next, ensure teachers have the means to assess students throughout the year and
conduct effective differentiated instruction.

 Then empower teachers to take immediate action if interventions aren't working.

 Finally, ensure everyone is moving toward the ultimate goal of comprehension to help
students make the critical transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn."

In these steps so teachers will be prepared to provide effective, targeted reading

instruction to all their students.

2.6 Problems in Teaching Reading

Generally it was found that the students easily get bored, short attention spans and
easily distracted with their friend and other things when teacher explaining whereas they are
fast learners actually. Many factors could contribute in this case such as boring situation, it
would be more difficult to get all the children to focus on the same part of the text at the
same time, classical and monotonous teaching. They are still unconfident in reading because
of feeling afraid to make mistake in reading new vocabulary spelling and predicting
meaning to answer the question. Furthermore, the data of the students’ achievement score on
reading comprehension (formative and summative test) had described that the students’
score achievement was still not achievement. The KKM (Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimum), the
minimum level of achievement. The KKM for English subject is 70. However, the students’
score was 54,70. It means that the score achievement is not achieved the KKM. Dealing
with the above problems, in this research the writer was interested to use a medium in
reading because teacher of English subject should be able to create a joyful learning
especially in Junior high school so that teaching learning process can be conducted well.
This can be done if the teacher understands about teaching methods and techniques
appropriate for the students in reading. It is good for teachers to use additional media to
assist the process of teaching reading. In improving students reading comprehension the
medium to be used is Big Book. Using Big Book in the classroom is not only an educational
tool but also it is a way to make learning more interesting and memorable for students. The
visual aid of Big Book is a sure hook to make good teaching sense in the classroom are gives
students the positive effects of reading experiences. Brown ( 1980: 315 ) explained “ before
you read activity helps students to recognize the purpose of read before students read a
text.” Large print and colorful illustrations allow whole classrooms to share good stories,
serve a concrete focus for reading act and students become more understand about the
content of the story or even stimulate students’ imagination. According to Dahl (2001: 43),
one of the most effective ways to get young children involved with print is through the
use of shared reading of enlarged texts. In shared reading, the teacher reads and the
children actively participate in reading with the teacher's guidance. On the first several
readings, the teacher usually does all of the reading.

2.6. Media

Media is the thing can carry a massage and can stimulate thoughts, feelings, and the
language ability.

2.6.1 Big Book

Big Book is considered to be one of the most effective ways of getting

students involved with print (Strickland & Morrow, 1990 cited in Nambiar, 1993).
Enlarged texts allow all the children in theclassroom to see and react to the words.
The Big Book facilitates use of the certain reading strategy such as reading aloud
better than the normal size books and attract young children curiosity as well as
sustain their enthusiasm. According to Lynch (2008: 35) Big Book creates secure
and relaxed atmosphere in the classroom and attracts students’ attention in
teaching and learning process. Big book has advantage can use picture for interesting
students in teaching and learning.

2.6.2 Advantage of Big Book

2.7 Text

1. narrative text

a. definition of narrative text

 CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODS

This chapter present the design of the research, instrument of the research, technique data
analysis, and research procedure

3.1 Research Design

This study conduct a classroom action research ( CAR ). Action research has grown in
popularity throughout the past two decades (Harkavy, Puckett, & Romer, 2000; Fleming,
2000). It is becoming a more accepted tool for teachers to assess their own teaching strategies
and reflect upon their effectiveness. McNiff (1999) defined action research as the name given
to an increasingly popular movement in educational research that encourages teachers to be
reflective of their own practices in order to enhance the quality of education for themselves
and their students. McNiff continued that action research is a form of self-reflective inquiry
that can be used in school-based curriculum development, professional development, and
school-improvement schemes. Schmuck (1997) extended on teacher self-reflection and stated
that "when educators strive to reflect on their past, present, and future actions and engage in
solitary dialogue, their perspectives of work mature" (p. 8). McNiff concluded that action
research actively involves teachers as participants in their own educational improvement.

From all the definition above,The researcher observed and reported anything happened in
the class, the researcher observed the teacher’s preparation, the technique of the teaching, the
student’s problem in learning reading, problem in teaching reading on narrative text and the
evaluation used by the teacher.

3.2 Research Instrument

The research need some instruments to help the researcher to get the data. The research
instruments that be used by the researcher were observation, interview, documentation
and questionnaire.

3.2.1 Observation