Enlisting Other Adults and Older Students to Read to Small Groups of Students

1. Collect cushions for this purpose so that the person reading and the child or children being read to can sit together comfortably on the classroom floor, in the hallway, or any other spot that provides a private space. (Some adults may find they are more comfortable on a low chair.)
2. Focus these experiences on reading for enjoyment and use good quality children's literature. Choose books that you know from experience are appealing to children.
3. Offer a brief training program for teacher associates, reading buddies, or adult volunteers that focuses on advice like the following.

   Reading to Children in the Emerging Phase of Literacy Make the experience enjoyable, read with expression. Read the book through once before reading it to the children in order to decide on a good spot in the book to stop and ask them to predict what they think will happen next. Talk with the children about the author and illustrator. Read the title and show the cover to the children and ask "What do you think this book is going to be about?" Ask children at the end of the book if the story turned out the way they thought it would.

4. Record these guidelines on paper and give every volunteer a personal copy.
5. Allow time for volunteers to read each book themselves or give them the book they will be reading next at the end of each session.

Enlisting Other Adults and Older Students to Read to Small Groups of Students Start a reading buddy program with another teacher in the school who works with Middle Level students. Encourage teachers with older students who are reluctant or struggling readers to support these students in becoming reading buddies. Provide them with the books to be read ahead of time and ask that they be given time and support to practice reading the book, or provide alternative activities related to the book for them to do with their buddy. Ask school or school division staff if they would be willing to take turns filling a once-a-week, half-hour time period to read to an individual or small group of children in your class. People to consider asking are: your principal; vice-principal; school secretary; resource room teacher; school librarian; school division language arts, early childhood, or primary consultant. Give everyone who agrees a schedule and tell them that when it is their week, they can decide what the best time will be for them that week and let you know. Be willing to adapt your schedule to theirs. Send a note home to parents explaining your "Reading to Children" program and its benefits and ask for volunteers. Stress that they can come in regularly, or occasionally, and for as little as 15 minutes for one session. Contact your local high school principal or guidance counselor to see if there are teachers or groups of students who might use visiting your classroom to read to your students as a type of career exploration and/or contact your high school's career education/work experience teachers. If you have a technical institute or university program in your city/town that offers Early Childhood Education classes, day care training, or elementary education, contact the institution to see if there is an instructor who would view this as an opportunity to provide concrete experiences to a class of adult students. Contact your local association for retired teachers, local seniors' centre, and/or local service clubs and ask for volunteers. Provide them with information about the benefits to children and the minimum time commitments.

See also Mentor-supported Literacy Development (p. 139) of this resource for other ways to use adult volunteers effectively.