Improving Beginning Reading Skills Through the SAS (Structural Analytical Synthetic) Method of Grade I Students of SD Islam Khaira Ummah Padang

Abstrak

The Indonesian language subject has a strategic function, namely as (1) a means of fostering national unity, (2) a means of increasing knowledge and skills to achieve and develop culture, (3) a means of increasing knowledge and skills to achieve and develop science, technology, and art, (4) a means of disseminating the use of good Indonesian for various purposes concerning various problems, (5) a means of developing reasoning, a means of understanding the diversity of Indonesian culture. In the Indonesian Language subject in elementary school, one of the language skills taught is reading. Children must be able to distinguish letters, pronounce the sounds of letters and words correctly, and move their eyes quickly to read the initial writing. Pronouncing the writing being read correctly, understanding the meaning of punctuation, and adjusting the voice with high and low according to the sounds spoken. According to Solchan T.W (in Hapsari 2019:12) initial reading is a reading ability that is prioritized at the basic level of reading ability, namely literacy. The meaning of literacy is that students can change and pronounce written sound symbols into meaningful sounds. The next ability is to improve reading skills at the discourse literacy stage. This stage is said to be the real ability stage because students are able to change written symbols into meaningful sounds accompanied by understanding. According to Khoridah, et al. (2019: 398), using the SAS (Structural Analytical Synthetic) method in early reading and writing learning in early grades is an alternative in helping or guiding students towards their own discovery, namely by using the help of teaching aids/media. Early language learning cannot be ignored, namely it should start at the age or early grades of elementary school. This learning is a strategic means as an initial step in gaining knowledge about words, and subsequent sentences can continue to develop in line with the growth and development of students' reasoning abilities. The type of research conducted by the researcher is a type of classroom action research (CAR). This research is conducted by teachers and aims to solve a problem that occurs in the classroom through several stages and measure the success of actions to overcome the problem. Classroom action research is a form of research that is carried out collaboratively. In implementing classroom action research, collaboration is required between practitioners (teachers, principals, students) and an understanding of a problem and the actions that will be taken to solve an existing problem. According to Arikunto (2020:1) Classroom Action Research (CAR) is a type of research that shows both the process and results carried out in the classroom to improve the quality of learning. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the research was carried out in two cycles, each cycle consisting of two meetings. The results of the study showed that in the observation of teacher activities in cycle I with a percentage of 79% included in the good category and in cycle II there was an increase with a percentage of 87% included in the very good category. Meanwhile, the learning outcomes in cycle I obtained an average of 71 with a percentage of 46% and in cycle II an average of 82.34 with a percentage of 81%. Based on this study, it can be concluded that the SAS (Structural Analytical Synthetic) method can improve students' initial reading skills. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that teachers apply the SAS (Structural Analytical Synthetic) method.