Published
July 18, 2025
| Pages: 579-591 | Views: 1370
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the story map method applied to fourth-grade primary school students on the students' ability to determine the main idea in narrative texts. The study was conducted within the scope of a quasi-experimental design, one of the quantitative research methods; a matched control group post-test model was used. The sample of the study consists of a total of 80 students (experiment = 40, control = 40) studying at a state primary school in Antalya, Turkiye. The "Reading Comprehension and Main Idea Determination Scale" consisting of open-ended questions was used as the data collection tool. The application process lasted eight weeks; the instruction supported by the story map method was carried out in the experimental group, while the traditional methods were carried out in the control group.
Shapiro-Wilk test, t-test for independent samples and Mann-Whitney U test were used in the analysis of the data. The findings revealed that the students who received education with the story map method showed significantly higher success compared to the control group both at the sub-problem level and in total test scores. Especially the high eta-squared values show that the application has a strong educational effect.
This study shows that structured strategies with visual support, such as story maps, are an effective method for developing the skill of determining the main idea at the primary school level. The findings emphasize the importance of integrating constructivist and visual-based approaches in teaching Turkish and contribute to the development of educational programs.
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Keywords
Story map, Reading comprehension, Determining the main idea, Visual learning strategies, Primary school students, Teaching Turkish
Affiliations
Yasin Özkara
Akdeniz University
Yasemin Bilişli
Akdeniz University
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