Gracia Edo Nabila Bire Kaho Pengarang SANTRI EMILIN PINGSABOI DJAHIMO Dosen Pembimbing 1 IDA NYOMAN TRI DARMA PUTRA Dosen Pembimbing 2 Santri Emilin Pingsaboi Djahimo Penguji 1 Elisna Huan Ketua Penguji Ida Nyoman Tri Darma Putra Penguji 2

In teaching reading there are many techniques that can be applied by teachers in order to make students easier in understanding reading text. One of those techniques in teaching reading is pop up story books technique. The research was conducted at SMP Negeri 2 Kupang. This research addressed two research questions as follows: 1) How can pop up story books be used in teaching reading to the seventh graders of SMP Negeri 2 Kupang in the academic year 2023/2024? 2) What are the students’ perceptions toward the use of pop up story books technique in comprehending stories? The aims of this study were: (1) to describe how the difference pop up story books technique can be used in teaching reading to the seventh graders of SMP Negeri 2 Kupang in the academic year 2023/2024. (2) to describe the students’ perceptions toward the use of pop up story books technique in comprehending stories. The population of this research was 319 students of seventh grades of SMP Negeri 2 Kupang in academic year 2023/2024. The research design used was descriptive qualitative method. The subjects of this research was students in SMP Negeri 2 Kupang. The sample was taken only in one class of the population. The total number of sample was 29 students in class E. The instruments used to collect data were questionnaire and interview. The result of the data collection was descriptive technique. The result has shown that pop story books technique has a positive views for the students to comprehending stories. Students' perceptions in using pop-up storybooks as a reading technique include: it can increasing students’ reading ability, providing an alternative in English texts, stimulating students’ imagination, easily capturing information, aiding students in understanding the content of the whole story, enabling students to grasp the moral message within the text, facilitating the integration of information, allowing students to draw conclusions from a story, and making reading with pop-up storybooks more enjoyable than with other books. Keywords: Pop up Story Books, Teaching