READEUNOIA: THE DEVELOPED COMPANION WORKBOOK INTEGRATING UMBRELLA PROJECT INTO SCHOLASTIC READING PROGRAM FOR GRADE 7 LEARNERS

The primary objective of this study was to develop and validate a companion workbook that integrated the social-emotional skills from the Umbrella Project into the reading instruction of Scholastic Reading Program to enhance Grade 7 learners’ reading comprehension levels at Asian Computer College, Inc. This study followed the design and development research method. Using purposeful sampling method, this study involved 30 Grade 7 learners and validators consisted of 15 Scholastic Reading Program and Umbrella Project teacher-implementers. Using an adapted four-point Likert scale, mean, frequency, percentage, and t-test, findings revealed that the companion workbook’s validity, based on the program teacher-implementers’ evaluation of its objectives (3.32), directions (3.53), topics (3.58), and practical exercises (3.57), were all interpreted as highly valid. Similarly, the level of acceptability of the developed companion workbook was all interpreted as highly acceptable based on the assessment of the aforementioned implementers in terms of clarity (3.63), usefulness (3.65), presentation (3.63), and suitability (3.56). The comparison between pretest and posttest results highlighted a significant improvement in the learners’ academic performance level. It can be concluded that the developed companion workbook for Grade 7 reading instruction evidently increased the respondents’ reading comprehension level based on the difference in their performance in the pretest and posttest.