Reading strategy use of upper primary school students in a task-oriented context

This study explores the reading strategy use of low- and high-achieving upper primary school readers (N = 24) through the analysis of think-aloud protocols. Given the situational dependency of reading strategy use, one specific context was explored, namely a task-oriented reading context involving text-related questions. By employing direct observations, this study avoids the limitations associated with self-reports, which are most common in the current literature base. Overall, a limited use of cognitive and metacognitive reading strategies was observed. Small disparities in cognitive reading strategy use between low- and high-achieving readers were observed, while large differences emerged in the use of metacognitive reading strategies and task-related activities. High-achieving readers demonstrated more metacognition, reread the text more frequently for relevant information, and located this information more efficiently than low-achieving readers. Self-assessment was rarely observed and was only conducted by high achievers when evaluating answers to text-related questions. Implications for teachers are discussed.