WH QUESTIONS AND READING COMPREHENSION OF GRADE SIX PUPILS

OF TAGURANO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Aurelia N. Lascua

Abstract
The purpose of this research is to study how WH Questions affects the
reading comprehension skills of the Grade Six pupils of Tagurano Elementary
School. The research design used was descriptive-comparative with the help of
secondary sources available. The researcher found out that WH Questions
Strategy has a significant effect on the reading comprehension skills of the said
students. Therefore, it was recommended that WH Questions Strategy should
also be adapted by the other teachers.
Introduction
The importance of understanding the nature of good reading instruction in
the primary grades cannot be overstated. More than half a century of research
has established a strong correlation between those who learn to read early and
easily and later academic success. According to the U.S. Department of
Education, despite noteworthy progress in recent years, one student in four
public school eighth-graders lacks basic grade-level reading skills: they do not
understand grade-appropriate material. This result is all the more troubling given
that we know more than ever about teaching reading effectively (Butler, Urrutia,
Buenger, & Hunt, 2010).

In a wh-question, a wh-phrase associates with a constituent that is absent

in the clause structure. More intuitively, the wh-phrase fulfills the grammatical
requirements in the clause structure that would normally be fulfilled by a
constituent phrase. The wh phrase is sometimes referred to as filler and the
associated constituent as gap or gap hypothesis (Lotpublications.nl, n.d.).

Butler, Urrutia, Buenger, & Hunt (2010) cited (Sweet & Snow, 2003) that
comprehension becomes especially important to students in the later elementary
grades because it provides the foundation for further learning in secondary
school. A students academic progress is profoundly shaped by the ability to
understand what is read. Students who cannot understand what they read are
not likely to acquire the skills necessary to participate in the 21st century
workforce.
A study conducted by Imam, Abas-Mastura, & Jamil (2013) stated that the
deteriorating performance of Filipino students in the national and international
mathematics tests for the last decade has become a major challenge to
Philippine education. The Department of Education attributed this problem to
students poor reading comprehension. Previous studies showed varied findings
on the association between variables in reading and mathematics.
This action research plan aims to know the relationship between the WH
Questions and reading comprehension of the Grade six students of Tagurano
Elementary School. Specifically, its goal is to answer the following questions: 1.)
What is the pre test scores of the experimental and control groups? 2.) What is
the post test scores of the experimental and control groups? 3.) Is there a
significant difference in the scores of the experimental and control groups? 4.)
What is the effect size of WH Questions to the reading comprehension of Grade
six students of Tagurano Elementary School?
To render better understanding of this paper, these terms are defined
operationally:

WH Questions refers to the strategy used by the teacher.

Reading comprehension refers to the ability of the respondents to

understand what they have read. It is measured using the pre-test and
post-test on answering WH Questions given by the teacher.

Method
To examine the relationship between WH questions and reading
comprehension, descriptive-comparative research design was used. The Grade
six students of Tagurano Elementary School were the respondents. They were
grouped into two: the experimental group and the control group. Pre test and
post test scores were used as secondary data. Statistical tools that were used
are Mean percentage, Standard Deviation, Independent Sample T-Test, and
ETA2 in full SPSS format.
Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation of Data
This section presents textual and tabular presentations of the findings of
the study.
Table 1. Pre Test Scores
Variable

Mean

SD

Descriptive Interpretation

Experimental

30

5.60

2.905

Low

Control

30

6.10

3.05

Low

Table 1 shows the pre test scores of the experimental and control groups.
It shows that the experimental group has a mean of 5.60 with a descriptive
interpretation of low while the control group has a mean of 6.10 which also
signifies low.
Table 2. Post Test Scores
Variable

Mean

SD

Descriptive Interpretation

Experimental

30

7.010

3.501

Moderate

Control

30

6.57

2.623

Low

Table 2 shows the post test scores of the experimental and control
groups. It shows that the experimental group has a mean of 7.010 with a
descriptive interpretation of moderate while the control group has a mean of 6.57
which signifies low.
Table 3. Independent Sample T-Test on WH Questions Strategy
Variable

df

t-value

p-value

Decision

60

15

2.958

0.002

Significant

Experimental
and Control

Table 3 shows the Independent Sample T-Test on WH Questions

Strategy. It shows that the experimental and groups generated a t-value of 2.958
with a p-value of 0.002 which is interpreted as significant.
Table 4. Effect Size of WH Questions Strategy
n

t-value

ETA2

Decision

60

2.958

0.135

Moderate effect

Table 4 shows the Test of Effect Size of WH Questions Strategy. It

generated an ETA2 value of 0.135 which signifies moderate effect. Therefore,
WH Questions Strategy is effective in improving the reading comprehension of
the Grade six students of Tagurano Elementary School.

Conclusion
1. The pre test score on the reading comprehension of the experimental
group is low while the control group is low.
2. The post test score on the reading comprehension of the experimental
group is moderate while the control group is low.
3. There is a significant difference in the scores of the experimental and
control groups.
4. The WH Question Strategy has a moderate effect on the reading
comprehension skills of Grade six students of Tagurano Elementary
School
Recommendation
1. WH Questions Strategy is recommended to be used by the other teachers
of Tagurano Elementary School.
2. Further research could be done to know more about the effects of WH
Questions to the reading comprehension skills of students.
References
Butler, S., Urrutia, K., Buenger, A., & Hunt, M. (2010). A review of the current
research on comprehension instruction. Retrieved September 20, 2014
from
http://www2.ed.gov/notclamped/programs/readingfirst/support/compfinal.p
df.

Imam, O., Abas-Mastura, A., Jamil, H. (2013). Correlation between reading

comprehension

skills and students performance

in

mathematics.

Retrieved September 20, 2014.

Sweet, A., & Snow, C. (2003, May 1). Rethinking reading comprehension.
Solving

problems

in

the

teaching

of

literacy.

(ERIC

Document

Reproduction Service No. ED481439). Retrieved May 20, 2009, from

ERIC database.