DEVELOPING AN ISLAMIC-THEMED SUPPLEMENTARY ENGLISH READING BOOK FOR JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

The limited reading material for Madrasah Tsanawiyah students is an important issue related to the development of English literacy skills and the cultivation of character values. Many textbooks do not reflect the cultural and religious context of students, so that learning becomes less meaningful and does not arouse interest in reading. This development research aims to design an Islamic-themed supplementary reading book for grade VIII students in the second semester of Madrasah Tsanawiyah. This study used a Research and Development (R&D) approach using the Four-D (4D) model, which includes four stages: Define, Design, Develop, and Disseminate. The participants of this study were 30 eighth grade students, consisting of 14 girls and 16 boys. Data was collected through interviews and a Likert scale questionnaire to obtain feedback. The product was validated by material experts, media experts, and English teachers who teach grade VIII students. To assess the feasibility of the product, a limited trial was conducted with 30 Madrasah Tsanawiyah students in Maibit Rengel, Tuban. The material expert gave a total score of 73 out of 75, which resulted in a percentage of 97.33%, indicating a “highly valid” category based on content suitability and contextual relevance. Media expert validation resulted in a score of 61 out of 65 or 93.85%, also categorized as “highly valid” in terms of design layout and visual presentation. Meanwhile, the English teacher assessed the product with a score of 49 out of a maximum score of 50, with a percentage result of 98%, also categorized as “very valid,” which specifically highlighted its suitability in terms of graphic elements and language clarity. In the limited trial, students obtained an average score of 81.72% out of a total of 1,471 points, which falls into the “very feasible” category. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the Islamic Themed Supplementary Reading Book for grade VIII Madrasah Tsanawiyah students is feasible and appropriate to support English language learning in the context of Independent Curriculum