Directed Reading-Thinking Activity for Teaching Reading Comprehension: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

This study investigated the implementation of the Directed Reading–Thinking Activity (DR-TA) strategy in teaching reading comprehension to ninth-grade students at SMPN 3 Pulung Ponorogo during the 2023/2024 academic year. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, data were gathered through observation, interviews, and documentation. The DR-TA procedure observed in this study comprised six stages: (1) introducing the text, (2) eliciting predictions from title clues, (3) predicting from image clues through guided questioning, (4) allowing students 10 minutes to read the full text, (5) collaboratively evaluating and revising predictions, and (6) repeating the cycle for all lesson segments. Findings indicate that DR-TA offers several advantages in teaching narrative texts: it enhances comprehension, makes learning more engaging, fosters individual responsibility, and encourages students to confidently express their answers. However, some challenges were noted, including the method’s time-consuming nature, reliance on textbooks, and slower access to information compared with teacher-led explanations. Overall, the application of DR-TA at SMPN 3 Pulung Ponorogo proved effective in improving students’ understanding of narrative texts.