Improving reading comprehension in secondary school 0 1

Abstract

This research addresses the challenge of reading comprehension in first-grade secondary school students in the community of Santiago Tianguistenco, State of Mexico. Facing persistent low-performance levels detected in standardized assessments, the study arises from the problematic identified at Escuela Secundaria Técnica No. 1 "Andrés Álvaro García", characterized by mechanical reading, a lack of cognitive strategies, limited academic vocabulary, and a significant disconnect between school content and the students' sociocultural environment. Using a quantitative, descriptive, and non-experimental approach, a pedagogical intervention was designed and implemented through three innovative proposals: "Thought Modeling," the creation of a "Situated and Progressive Academic Glossary," and the establishment of a "Situated Reading Laboratory." These strategies aim to transcend basic decoding to foster inferential, critical, and reflective comprehension by integrating the adolescent’s immediate reality into the learning process. The results obtained after the project's implementation confirm that the explicit teaching of reading strategies and the pedagogical link with the local context substantially increase academic performance. In conclusion, this intervention demonstrates that by transforming reading into a meaningful and situated tool, it is possible to strengthen reading competence and contribute to the formation of adolescents capable of critically interpreting their world, under the premise that "a child who reads will be an adult who thinks."