Enhancing Comprehension Skills of Grade 6 Learners Using Pictodex (Picture-Text Connector Cards) Strategy

Abstract

In today’s educational landscape, many learners continue to experience difficulties in reading comprehension, particularly in understanding, interpreting, and connecting ideas from texts. These challenges are more evident among frustration-level readers who struggle with identifying details, sequencing events, determining main ideas, and making inferences. This action research aimed to determine the effectiveness of Pictodex (Picture-Text Connector Cards) in improving the reading comprehension skills of Grade 6 frustration-level learners in one of the elementary schools in Ozamiz City during the School Year 2025-2026. Specifically, the study sought to identify the learners’ reading comprehension levels before and after the implementation of Pictodex and determine whether a significant difference existed between the pretest and posttest results. The study utilized a quantitative pre-experimental one-group pretest-posttest research design. Nineteen Grade 6 learners who were identified as frustration-level readers served as the respondents of the study through purposive sampling. A researcher-made reading comprehension test was used as the primary instrument in gathering data. The intervention was implemented for four weeks using Pictodex as a visual-text scaffolding strategy during reading sessions. Statistical tools such as frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and paired t-test were used to analyze the gathered data. Findings revealed that learners demonstrated low reading comprehension performance before the implementation of Pictodex. After the intervention, learners showed improved comprehension performance, with more learners reaching higher performance levels. The study further revealed a significant difference between the learners’ pretest and posttest scores, indicating that Pictodex effectively enhanced the reading comprehension skills of Grade 6 learners. The study concluded that Pictodex is an effective visual-text instructional strategy that supports learners in constructing meaning and improving comprehension skills.