Integrating Educational Robotics for Teaching Early Literacy Skills to Students at Risk for Reading Failure

The Importance Of Reading In School Life And Adulthood

Reading can hardly be overestimated in society as it has been associated with social and economic advancements (Blomert & Froyen, 2010; Snowling & Hulme, 2011). Some young students learn to read before school, while most learn to read fairly quickly with formal instruction. Learning to read is a complicated process, and students who are successful in reading develop a positive academic experience (Kilpatrick, 2015).

Despite advances in the science of reading instruction, a considerable percentage of students still need to achieve the appropriate reading level for their age. According to the report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, 2019), only 35% of fourth-grade students and 34% of eighth-grader students performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level on reading assessment, and the case for children with learning disabilities was much worse (12% Grade 4 and 9% Grade 8). These results indicate that almost two-thirds of students face difficulties integrating and interpreting texts and applying their text understanding to draw conclusions and make evaluations (see NAEP Proficient level). Consequently, understanding the components of early reading acquisition is essential to ensure that children’s reading difficulties are identified early and that timely intervention is implemented.