Arrest the Frustration Readers Program (AFRP) for Grades 1 to 3

The Arrest the Frustration Readers Program (AFRP) is a reading program for Grades 1, 2 and 3. It helps frustration readers, meaning children who struggle to read grade-level text, become instructional or independent readers and return to their regular classes. The program was launched in line with Millennium Development Goal 2 (Achieve Universal Primary Education), the Education For All (EFA) goal on improving the quality of education, and the Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP).

This guide explains the program’s approaches and activities. It also explains the two reading methods it uses: the Marungko Approach and the Four-Pronged Approach.

On this page 7 sections

Supporting activities for schools

For the AFRP to work well, all schools are encouraged to carry out these reading activities:

• Use the Phil-IRI (Grades 2 to 6) and the EGRA (Grade 1)
• Set up mini-libraries in classrooms
• Hold DEAR, or Drop Everything and Read (DepEd Memo No. 244, s. 2011)
• Set up a reading clinic

Related resources:

1. Revised Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI)
2. Download the 2018 Phil-IRI Manual

Approaches to arrest frustration readers

1. Mother tongue-based reading instruction that combines the Marungko Approach and the Four-Pronged Approach.
2. A pull-out scheme. Frustration readers from Grades 1, 2 and 3 leave their classes and meet at the reading clinic. An expert reading teacher handles them for 1 hour every day.
3. AFR Reading Kits. These hold calibrated reading and phonics exercises in the learners’ mother tongue.
4. Regular progress monitoring and assessment to track each child’s reading progress.

Program activities

The program lists 38 activities. They are grouped below by purpose.

Orientation, launching and advocacy

• Orient parents and teachers on the AFR Program.
• Hold a school orientation and project launch.
• Meet with parents of frustration readers (FRs) to discuss the program.
• Do advocacy and organize FR parents to generate support: send letters of invitation, prepare the agenda, then hold the advocacy and organizing activity.
• Visit model reading centers for benchmarking.

Teacher training

• Train reading teachers in beginning reading and in developing and using mother tongue-based reading materials.
• Train reading teachers in individualized instruction and LCL.
• Practice effective teaching and learning (ETL) in day-to-day work.

Diagnosis and leveling

• Diagnose reading with the Phil-IRI and EGRA to find the frustration readers who will join the program.
• Level readers using the Phil-IRI and EGRA.
• Give both oral and written reading diagnosis.
• Check results against anecdotal records and teachers’ feedback on the FRs (validation and triangulation).
• Build a database of pupils’ reading levels.
• Visit the homes of FRs and interview key family members about each child’s profile.

Reading clinic and intervention

• Schedule and program classes for the pull-out sessions.
• Pull learners out of their classes for at least 1 hour of reading intervention every day.
• Keep the reading clinic learner-centered, with proper lesson structures, technology, and interactive reading materials.
• Give FRs varied, interactive activities in beginning reading.
• Use varied reading exercises for word recognition and comprehension: whole group, small groups, triads, dyads, and individual work.
• Design approaches and activities that fit learners’ learning styles, talents, interests and needs.

Materials

• Buy workbooks, charts, reading drill cards, reading exercises, and MTBRK.
• Buy supplies for teacher-made instructional materials.

Monitoring and evaluation

• Design a progress checklist filled in by the learner, by peers, and by the teacher.
• Teachers revise their activities based on each learner’s reading progress.
• Design and use evaluation tools to measure reading improvement.
• Fill in a Reading Progress Chart to classify readers and find those ready to go back to class.

Merit and awards

• Brainstorm with teachers a merit and award system for pupils and reading teachers, and write guidelines for it.
• Recognize successful readers with a star awards system.

Mainstreaming

Learners move at their own pace. Once a learner becomes an instructional or independent reader, they return to their regular class (mainstreaming) at any time of the year.

In short, the program flows as: scheduling, advocacy and launching with parents, reading intervention, progress monitoring and evaluation, then mainstreaming.

The Marungko Approach

The Marungko Technique was first introduced in a public elementary school in Marungko, Angat, Bulacan. It was developed by Nooraihan Ali and Josefina Urbano and described in their book.

The authors call the method phono-syllabic. Children first learn the correct single sounds and how to blend them into syllables and words, instead of first learning the alphabet (abakada). Letter names are not taught until all sounds and their written forms are mastered.

The approach does not follow the usual alphabet order. It starts with sounds such as m, s, a, i and o. Letters are sounded out, not named: “m” is said as “mmm,” not “ma.” Knowing just a few sounds already lets a child read some words.

How to use the Marungko lessons

The first five lessons teach these sounds:

Lesson	Sound
1	m
2	a
3	s
4	i
5	o

Teach each sound and its letter to mastery before introducing a new one:

1. Ask a question whose answer brings out the target sound.
2. Write the letter on the board and have children say the sound again as they look at it.
3. Show how to write it. Have children write it on the board, in the air, on their palms, on their desks, and on paper while saying the sound.
4. Mastery means children know both the sound and the letter: they can say the sound and write the symbol.

After the first three sounds are mastered, combine them into words, phrases or sentences. Each new sound is taught together with the sounds already learned.

Teach function words as whole words, since the phono-syllabic method cannot teach them, for example ng, mga and ay.

After the first five sounds, other sounds can be taught. The suggested sequence given is:

Lesson	Sound	Lesson	Sound
6	p	14	b
7	k	15	g
8	t	16	e
9	l	17	w
10	r	18	h

Panimulang Pagbasa: Dulog Marungko (beginning reading, the Marungko way)

The Filipino-language guidelines give these reminders:

1. Build enough reading readiness before teaching a child to read.
2. Teach each new sound together with all earlier sounds, in different combinations.
3. The teacher decides when to teach capital letters. The suggestion is to teach them after all small letters are mastered.
4. Practice the sounds through stories, riddles (bugtong), poems (tula) and similar texts.
5. Use real objects, pictures, flashcards, charts, cut-outs and games to keep learners interested.
6. Teach one sound a day so it is fully learned.

Suggested sounds per quarter (Mungkahing Tunog na Ituturo Bawat Markahan)

Quarter	Sounds
First (Unang Markahan)	m, s, a, i, o, b
Second (Ikalawang Markahan)	e, u, t, k, l, y, n, g
Third (Ikatlong Markahan)	ng, p, r, d, h, w
Fourth (Ikaapat na Markahan)	c, f, j, ñ, q, v, x, z

Levels of reading (Mga Antas ng Pagbasa)

First level (Unang Antas)

• Show pictures or objects that begin with the target sound.
• Introduce the sound, show its shape, and show the letter.
• Have learners trace the letter in the air, on their palms, on the floor and on the board, then write it on paper.
• Write the beginning sound.
• Have learners name other objects that begin with the sound.

Second level (Ikalawang Antas)

• Blend sounds into meaningful words. Example using m, s and a: ama, sasama, mama, sama, aasa, masama.

Third level (Ikatlong Antas)

• Introduce function words such as mga, ang, ay, si, ng, sa, kay and nang.

Fourth level (Ikaapat na Antas)

• Form phrases and sentences.
• Read the words, phrases and sentences formed.
• Identify details with the teacher’s guidance.

The Four-Pronged Approach in Reading Instruction

By Raidis Laudiano, M.A.

Professor Basilisa Manhit of the College of Education, University of the Philippines Diliman, first developed the Four-Pronged Approach. It is literature-based and holistic, and it stresses the process of transfer. It grew over the years through use by teachers of the UP Integrated School Kindergarten to Grade 2 and input from the Reading Education faculty of the same university.

1. Genuine love for reading

This prong immerses the child in literature to build a lasting love for reading.

• Choose a good story or poem that fits the children’s age, interests and vocabulary. The teacher must understand its message well, because it guides the lesson objective.
• Identify words, phrases, places and details that may block understanding. Unlock them with demonstrations, real objects, drawings, context clues or games.
• Give children a reason to listen. Find an incident in the story that is familiar to them and ask a motivation question so they share their own experiences. Then ask a similar question about the story, so they listen to find out how it turns out.
• Read the story only after this interest is sparked, and read it in a way that keeps that interest.

2. Critical thinking

After the reading, children answer the motive question. A discussion guided by the teacher’s questions brings out the story’s events and message, at the children’s own pace. Creative exercises may follow so children interpret the story on their own. Done daily, this builds vocabulary, attention span and listening comprehension, and makes critical thinking a habit.

3. Mastery of the structures of the Filipino or English language

Literature gives examples of good language that children pick up and use. The story is a shared experience, so the teacher uses its content to teach and practice specific language structures. Children learn grammar without feeling they are in a grammar lesson. This prong is now also called GOLD, or Grammar and Oral Language Development.

4. Transfer stage

Children used to hearing stories will want to read on their own. Opening a book and pretending to read are signs a child is ready for beginning reading. This prong gives reading readiness activities and is planned as carefully as the others. The Fuller Approach guides the order of teaching sounds. In Filipino, the Marungko Approach provides the structure.

Summary of the four prongs

Prong	Goal	Materials
Genuine Love for Reading (GLR)	Develop a lifetime love, habit and enjoyment of reading	Storybooks, poems, trade books, songs
Critical Thinking (CT)	Build the habit of reflecting on what is read, making decisions and judgments, and valuing	The same story, plus post-reading activities that engage children
Mastery of the Structures of the Filipino/English Language (MSF/EL) or GOLD	Build competence in oral language and correct use of syntax	Still based on the story; objects, pictures and charts for applying the structures
Transfer Stage (TS)	Develop phonemic awareness, decoding and encoding skills	Worksheets, writing tablets, charts and other materials at the right level

The prongs flow into each other naturally. The first three all come from the story or poem read. In the transfer stage, children go back to where they left off in the previous day’s lesson and continue with the teacher’s guidance.

Reference

Ocampo, Dina Joana, and Hermosa, Nemah (1997). EDR 210 Module: Trends in Reading Instruction. U.P. Open University, Diliman, Quezon City: Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services.

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