From Recitation to Comprehension: Integrating Reading Strategies into Early Fiqh Learning

Abstract

Early madrasah pupils may memorise foundational religious texts while struggling to read accurately, fluently, and meaningfully. Although early-literacy research supports explicit multicomponent instruction, evidence remains limited on how to adapt such instruction to shahada learning in fiqh or how individual students progress across reflective intervention cycles. This study examined changes in first-grade students’ shahada reading performance following an Integrated Reading Strategy. This classroom action research, with a mixed-methods orientation, involved 30 students at MI Ma’arif Bendosari during the 2025/2026 academic year. Data were collected through reading assessments, observations, interviews, and instructional documentation across a pre-cycle phase and two cycles of planning, action, observation, and reflection. We analysed quantitative scores descriptively and integrated them with qualitative evidence. The mean score increased from 61.17 to 69.83 and 76.33, while mastery rose from 26.7% to 60.0% and 96.7%. All students improved by 5-25 points, with larger gains occurring among those with lower baseline scores, and the score range narrowed from 45 to 25 points. These findings indicate that iterative phonetic, visual, collaborative, and individual support was associated with broader and more evenly distributed reading mastery. Integrated reading instruction should therefore complement memorisation in early fiqh education, with differentiated assistance retained for students requiring further support.