Abstract
My research study centred around reading for learning in the Grade 4 science curriculum. I argued that Grade 4 learners struggle to navigate the’ linguistic puzzles’1 of scientific texts. I surmised that learners may have inadequate background knowledge on the topic they have to read about, or that they have not been exposed enough to scientific texts, assuming that they are, on average, competent readers. The study aimed to investigate how learners comprehend concepts of a specific science curriculum topic when reading the text. The study was motivated by my interest in teaching science and how learners read science texts in the Grade 4 science class. There is a scarcity of research about this topic, especially in relation to reading for learning. I studied a random sample of primary school learners’ understanding of a specific science topic, utilising a typical 'comprehension' test format with a passage to read in English. This is the language of the suburban school in Johannesburg where the study was conducted and where most of the school population do not use English as their primary language. The theoretical framework from which I approached the study is the 2019 publication of Tunmer and Hoover, proposing that the Cognitive Foundations Framework for Learning to Read (CFLR) is a concise and comprehensible summary of reading skills and knowledge, based on research findings related to how learners learn to read. This framework integrates various theories of early reading, such as the Simple View of Reading (SVR) and sets out a framework that culminates in two main cognitive functions, namely word recognition and language comprehension. The CFLR was used as a lens to gain understanding of the reading competence (and comprehension) of the participants in the analysis of the data of the study. This research in the school comprised the test that was administered over two days and during which learners (n=25) had to read a passage about the Komodo dragon and answer questions, based on the reading. The test was repeated on the second day, but with illustrations added to the test. The learners also wrote a short passage and made drawings on the second day. The data was collated and from the content analysis, six themes were identified: The findings of the study show that word recognition skills and the ability to read cohesively had not been secured in English at a Grade 4 level. The learners also lacked the vocabulary and related background knowledge to read the text with understanding and to apply their literacy skills for learning.