DEVELOPING READING MATERIALS OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXT BASED ON NORTH BARITO LOCAL CONTENT FOR EIGHT GRADE OF SMPN 10 MUARA TEWEH

Many English textbooks used in junior high schools are still too general and do not reflect the local culture around the students, making it harder for them to understand and enjoy descriptive texts. This study was carried out to develop reading materials of descriptive text based on the local content of North Barito Regency for eighth-grade students at SMPN 10 Muara Teweh, using a Research and Development (R&D) design guided by the ADDIE model, which covers the steps of Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The material expert gave a validation score of 95%, the media expert gave 96%, and the local content expert gave 96%, so the book was categorized as Very Feasible for classroom use. During the tryout, students showed strong enthusiasm and active participation, and the teacher confirmed that the book helped raise students' interest and understanding of descriptive text. The students' overall response reached an attractiveness score of 94.51%, placing the book in the Very Attractive category. These results show that reading materials built around familiar local content, such as Dayak traditions, the Barito River, and everyday community life, can help students understand descriptive texts more easily while also strengthening their pride in their own local culture.