Enhancing Reading Skills of Primary School Students Structured Learning Activities

Abstract 
Structured learning activities play a 
significant role in enhancing the reading 
skills of primary grade students. The primary 
objective of this research is to improve the 
reading proficiency of students in Tamil me- -dium schools within the Kalpitiya Division 
of the Puttalam Education Zone through such 
activities.The sub-objectives include  ident-  -ifying students' reading difficulties, 
evaluating the impact of structured learning 
activities on reading and comprehension 
skills, and comparing the progress of 
students participating in these activities with 
those in traditional classrooms. For this study, 
data were collected from 60 teachers using 
questionnaires. Additionally, 60 students 
were divided into an experimental group and 
a control group, undergoing formal pre-tests 
and post-tests. The collected data were 
analyzed using SPSS software. According to 
the research findings, 99% of teachers agreed 
that reading skills can be improved through 
structured learning activities. Following the 
implementation of these activities, students' 
reading proficiency increased significantly. 
Specifically, the average score of the 
experimental group rose from 30.56 to 50.33 
(an increase of approximately 20%). The 
study reveals that activities incorporating 
games and phonics methods led to faster and 
more stable progress compared to traditional 
learning methods. Therefore, this research 
emphasizes that learning activities should be 
simple, guidance- oriented, and student
friendly. These recommendations are 
expected to serve as a guide for educational 
administrators and teachers to elevate the 
reading standards of primary grade students.