I came across this video when searching for sites pertaining to children’s literacy. It is a great video which talks about a program in Virginia geared toward first graders that has the children work with Book Buddies who are community volunteers. This program works with struggling students and primarily focuses on building fluency and comprehension using read-alouds, games, and promotes children’s literacy.
The Book Buddies program focuses on building parental support, systematic phonics, good children’s literature, and providing lots of individual attention.
Are you or have you been a part of a tutoring program such as Book Buddies?
What do you think it would take to start a program like this in the Orange School District?
I think this program is so important. If we can help readers while they aren't too far behind, they have a good chance of becoming proficient readers in the future. The problem arises when struggling readers don't get any help in the first stages of reading, and aren't able to ever catch up. I'm in EDUC 500 right now, and we are all matched up with a student to tutor in reading. We do alot of the same activities shown in the video, and I'm excited to see the progress of my student throughout the semester. The only negative thing about the tutoring program here at Chapman is that they can only accept as many students as there are tutors, which is not many. I'm not sure what it would take to start a program like Book Buddies in the Orange School District, but I am sure that many of the liberal studies majors would be willing to volunteer if they did start this program in local elementary schools.
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly a vital program. It has great goals and probably great outcomes because of the individual attention provided for students. I have been involved in a tutoring program for reading but it was nearly as involved as this one. Like Krista, I am not sure what is would take to start a program like Book Buddies in the Orange School District, but I'm sure there would be plenty of willing people to be a part of this program.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like an incredible program. They seem to have brought all the key elements to reading into one program for those students who need a little extra help. Not everyone learns at the same pace and therefore it is important to have specialized programs. I think there are a lot of people who would love to start programs like this but just do not know how. I know that it takes a lot of work to get programs started as I run my own sailing program. However, I think the best thing is to have an informational interview with someone who puts on a similar program and the just get started. You can learn along the way!!
ReplyDeleteI think that this program would be extremely affective in a number of environments. When i was in a reading tutoring program, they were effective but not nearly as interactive and productive like this one. The one on one teaching is very affective but extremely affective when used the right way. If we had the organization and funding to produce a program like this one, I believe there would be a bunch of people willing to take part.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in kindergarten we had 8th grade buddies. I remember doing a variety of activities with them and I was always so excited to just hang out with them. We would do art projects as well as reading days. Every other Friday the 8th graders would come into our classroom and we would get with our buddies and they would read to us. It was so excited to hear so many new stories. We would then have the chance to read them a story of our own and it was so awesome because we were given the opportunity to read to them and they were able to help us when we had trouble. It was so fun to learn new things from the older students and we I never realized how much they were really teaching us. It is always a great idea to give students the chance to learn from others besides their teacher because this way they are able to have a good time and some of the pressure is taken off. I think reading buddies is a great program and I think it would be somewhat easy to implement it into schools. Even just a few days a month would benefit the students.
ReplyDeleteThis program sounds extremely effective and I think it would be beneficial for any school district. It is vital to gain student's eagerness to read early so they will continue to do so throughout their learning. The program is encouraging and steers away from punishing students for not being able to read, rather it makes young kids excited about reading. Volunteering for this organization would be amazing because you can really see the difference that the Book Buddies makes on children.
ReplyDeleteI think that programs such as these are beneficial to all. It allows parents/teachers to progress from the kid as well as it provides a different environment for the student to learn in. I have worked in an afterschool program where we focused on reading with the students but not as intense . However my roommate's school established a reading program where the younger/ lower leveled students were paired up with a uppergrade student and together they would practice reading and each level that was passed would be marked on a big reading board. When the student completes all the levels they were invited to apizza party. I think inorder to start a program like the one shown would require funding, perhaps a literacy grant or money set aside from the budget. However as a teacher you could start a program such as this in your classroom, all you would need is motivation and passsion toward the area. You could stay after school on thursdays and create a book club, something that would motivate the students to come and read. A program that shows that reading for fun can be fun. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, Im going to have to agree with everyone else who posted to this research tool. what a great find and very invaluable lessons taught. Book buddies should be implemented in all community districts, especially those with students who have a harder time in reading and fluency scores.
ReplyDeleteI think this program and others like it really do make a difference. For one, it gets children excited to read. It's not just reading time, it's time to meet with your buddy again and read with them. And it also allows the children to ask questions about the story. What words mean, how to pronounce them, what is happening in the story. It provides the book buddy time to ask critical thinking questions to the reader also. I remember when I was in first grade, one of the fifth grade classes would come in twice a week (or more, I can't remember) and we would all find a spot and read together. I was always really excited to see my reading buddy.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing program! I have participated in a similar program though my local library, but really this just goes so much further! I truly wish the Orange School District would start a program like this, but am not sure how easy it would be to begin. In light of Pink Friday, I really doubt schools have the extra time or patience to worry about starting new programs. On the other hand however, this program could help to supplement individual attention lost from the expansion of class sizes. I would LOVE to participate!
ReplyDeleteAll I have to say about this program is WOW! It seems like such a good program for at risk students! Programs like these are excellent since they help students get the one on one tutoring they need. Through these types of programs students are given the opportunity to learn about literacy effectively.Although I have never been involved with a community outreach program like book buddies, if I were given the opportunity to do so I would defenitely participate in one. I think that these types of programs are so beneficial for both students and teachers because it helps form stronger bonds and it helps develop self confidence. As a future educator I hope that the school I work with is open minded to new ideas and is willing to try programs like book buddies. In addition, I hope that I too become more involved with programs so that I too can help struggling readers succeed.
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