Compreensão leitora: análise das práticas de leitura no 5º ano do Ensino Fundamental - anos iniciais

Abstract

This dissertation, developed within the Professional Master’s Program in Education at the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), investigates the development of reading comprehension among 5th-grade students, with emphasis on their reading practices. Grounded in theoretical frameworks by authors such as Solé (1998), Zilberman (1996), and Kleiman (2014), the study conceptualizes reading as a complex cognitive and social activity that requires articulation between decoding, fluency, and textual comprehension. Reading, in addition to being an essential academic skill, is understood as a fundamental right that expands opportunities for social participation and strengthens citizenship. The general objective was to examine students’ reading performance and reading practices upon entering the 5th grade, based on the reading descriptors assessed by SAEB. The specific objectives were to: (i) diagnose common difficulties in reading comprehension; (ii) identify participants’ reading practices; (iii) analyze the presence of digital technologies in their reading habits; and (iv) develop an educational product that supports teachers in fostering readers. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combined the application of diagnostic instruments (based on SAEB descriptors) and a questionnaire about reading habits and technology use. Thirty-one students from a private school in southern Minas Gerais participated in the study. Results from the diagnostic assessment revealed that students demonstrated mastery in inferring implicit information in texts and, for the most part, were able to identify meaning effects resulting from punctuation and other notational cues. Conversely, difficulties emerged in inferring the meaning of words or expressions within texts. The questionnaire data indicated low interest in reading and daily use of screens, suggesting a possible predominance of reading in digital formats. The educational product developed was a pedagogical booklet offering reading and comprehension strategies aimed at supporting teacher education and fostering more democratic, equitable, and meaningful literacy practices. As a contribution, this study seeks to reaffirm the idea that practice continually (re)feeds theory. Rethinking reading instruction, teacher preparation, and policies that promote access to books and written culture is essential to ensuring that all students have opportunities to become competent and engaged readers, capable of interacting critically and autonomously with the world.