Hello Netters:
For several years I've encouraged my younger students (I serve a K - 6
school) to do 5 minutes of reading aloud at home each day in addition to the
15 or 20 minutes of "Homework reading" they're assigned by the teacher, but
I have not tracked it nor made it compulsory. Students generally do not get
much time to read aloud in the classroom, and as they grow older, if they
struggle with reading, it becomes an embarrassment. It's my opinion that
when many students read silently they often do not know they are making
mistakes, especially the younger ones.
I want each child to have a "reading buddy" after school (could be a parent,
grandparent, caregiver, older sibling, etc.) to just be there when the
student reads the five minutes aloud, and verify the reading log. This
person does not have to sit with the child and correct them, and some of our
parents don't even understand English anyway. Mom could be busy cutting up
veggies, for example, while listening. The important thing is to have the
child practice reading aloud, developing oral fluency, and hearing
themselves (and hopefully realizing when they've misread or mispronounced a
word). Kids don't always do that very well when reading silently, but with
an adult or older sibling listening, they might, or the listener might ask
them to pause and reread it.
It seems important too, for the parent (hopefully) or other buddy to be
aware of whether the student is progressing or not. If not, the parent is
more likely to contact the teacher and try to get help for the child. (One
would hope, anyway). I remember my daughter struggling a little bit, and
reading right through the periods. It turned out she had a very minor
eyesight problem and wasn't seeing the periods well enough to detect them at
the time. She wore her new glasses for a while, then managed to do without
and is now a great reader. In college she did get glasses again, just for
reading since she was reading so intensely. The point being that it was I,
the parent, who "caught" the slight eyesight problem when she read aloud -
not the teacher (or the school nurse), who had many more students who were
much worse off.
Anyway, I thought I'd call my program "Give Me Five" ("Gimme Five" is cuter
but not sure it would pass muster due to the spelling!) but I'm wondering if
I should give out additional sheets to kids for keeping track, or ask the
teachers to incorporate it into their classroom reading logs. I'm also
considering awarding some recognition (certificate perhaps; not individual
prizes, but maybe a drawing from among those that participate, or a special
lunch together, etc.). I've already decided that their reading buddy can
change (Dad one night, Big Sis the next, even the family dog or Teddy Bear -
on occasion (!) if that's all that's around!) as needed, or for fun.
My "Target" is that I'd like your input or ideas on facilitating the
program, or maybe even a reference to a particular reading report that might
support my premise (specifically reading aloud to someone helps improve
reading fluency and comprehension), and how would I validate that reading
improved (at least partially) by reading aloud with a buddy?
The experience that inspires me the most to do this is that when I ask "Who
has someone at home who can listen to them read aloud for five minutes?"
most of the hands go up; but invariable, it is the children most struggling
with reading (or sometimes seem unkempt) that say "no one" when you ask them
because their hand is not raised. A sad and sobering thought! Either there
really is "no one" there or that someone cares so little that the child
won't even ask them. In that case, hopefully we will be able to find a
willing "Buddy."
By the way, we're getting a new principal this year, so I want to approach
this the best way. I also want to add that it will be up to the teacher
whether or not I present the challenge and the program to their class, but I
expect to have good buy-in from most of my teachers. I'm not sure whether to
do all grades (first grade & up) all year or just start with one or two
grade levels this year and see how it flies. Please send your thought to me
at shatz@verizon.net
Thanks,
Joanne Ladewig (A.K.A. "Library Lady")
Library Media Tech
Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD
Garden Grove, California
shatz@verizon.net
Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD
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