Didactic Strategies Used by Teachers to Teach Literacy in Third Grade of Primary Education

Abstract

Pedagogical strategies play a fundamental role in the teaching and learning process. They provide a systematic framework for organizing and planning instructional actions that facilitate knowledge construction within the school environment through continuous interaction with learners and their educational context. In the Dominican Republic, previous studies have examined the implementation of instructional strategies to strengthen literacy skills among primary school students (Jiménez Mejía, 2024). However, further research is needed to better understand the teaching strategies employed by third-grade teachers to promote literacy learning. This study aimed to analyze the instructional strategies used by third-grade teachers in Baní, Peravia Province, Dominican Republic, for teaching literacy. A qualitative, descriptive, non-experimental, and cross-sectional research design was adopted, using interviews and classroom observations as data collection techniques. The participants included 10 third-grade teachers, 7 academic coordinators, and 6 school principals selected through convenience sampling. The findings revealed that teachers employed a variety of instructional strategies, some aligned with the official pedagogical guidelines and others adapted to their professional experience and students’ learning needs. The most frequently observed strategies included reading aloud, text analysis, phonological awareness activities, role-playing, story reading, and reading comprehension enhancement. None of the identified strategies involved the use of technological tools. The study concludes that teachers implement diverse instructional strategies and make pedagogical adaptations to foster the development of literacy competencies according to each child's learning level and pace.