The Effect of Keyword Games on Reading Comprehension and Fluent Reading Skills of Primary School 4th Grade Students

Abstract

The objective of this study is to establish whether the Keyword Games (KWG) created by the researcher using the keywords in the texts affect the students' reading comprehension and fluent reading skills. In the research, in which the experimental method, one of the quantitative research methods, was utilized; a quasi-experimental design with pre-test post-test control group has been used. The study group of the research, which has been conducted in one of the central districts of Van province in the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year, consists of 50 students attending 4th grade in two different primary schools in the same district. In order to obtain the research data, 'Running Records', 'Reading Comprehension Questionnaire' and 'Multidimensional Fluency Scale' have been utilized. As a result of the research, a significant difference has been obtained in favor of the experimental group in terms of students' reading comprehension levels. In the sense of fluent reading skills, a significant difference was obtained in favor of the experimental group in terms of correct reading and prosodic reading levels, no significant difference was obtained in terms of reading speeds as well. It was concluded that the students in the experimental group, who were taught vocabulary using Keyword Games (KWG), had higher reading comprehension and fluent reading levels than the students in the control group, who were taught vocabulary in accordance with the current Turkish lesson curriculum (2019).