Mengonstruksi Makna melalui Literasi Visual: Perubahan Pemahaman Membaca di Sekolah Dasar

Low reading comprehension among elementary school students is not only related to individual ability but also to how texts are presented and how instruction supports students in connecting verbal and visual information. This study aimed to analyze the integration of visual literacy and changes in students’ reading comprehension through reflectively designed classroom actions. The study employed the Kemmis and McTaggart classroom action research model, consisting of a pre-cycle, Cycle I, and Cycle II. The participants were 16 fifth-grade students at MIN 4 Tebo. Each cycle was conducted in four meetings through planning, action, observation, and reflection. Data were collected through reading comprehension tests, observations of student activities, interviews, reflective notes, and documentation. Quantitative data were analyzed using mean scores and the proportion of students meeting the minimum mastery criterion, while qualitative data were analyzed through data condensation, data display, and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the mean score increased from 54.44 in the pre-cycle to 69.81 in Cycle I and 81.00 in Cycle II. The proportion of students meeting the mastery criterion increased from 0 percent to 68.75 percent and reached 100 percent in Cycle II. Improvements were also observed in students’ attention to visual media, ability to connect images with texts, participation in discussions, identification of main ideas, and ability to draw conclusions. The most important finding was that attention and enthusiasm toward visual materials developed faster than students’ ability to formulate conclusions, indicating that visual media do not work automatically without guiding questions, visual worksheets, structured discussion, and teacher support. The study concludes that reflectively designed visual literacy integration can support improvements in both the process and outcomes of reading comprehension. The findings imply that teachers should select relevant visuals, connect them with purposeful reading activities, and provide scaffolding that helps students move from observation to interpretation.