Book Buddies

Overview
Reading and Writing skills improve with this "Learning by Teaching" model. High school students schedule five Read Aloud sessions with their elementary school Book Buddies and become reading role models. They keep journals to reflect their mentoring experience.
For more about this special from
Literacy Leaders
for Life Long Learners
e-mail Mary Ellen Bower, author and AT&T Teacher Disseminator.
Learning Standards
  • Conduct effective discussions.
  • Employ different uses of technology to complete and enhance work.
  • Understand and effectively employ the writing process
Classroom Activities
As they prepare for Read Alouds, students:
  • Schedule sessions with elementary students.
  • Investigate, practice, and critique each other’s Read Aloud techniques.
  • Access Web Sites for Children’s Books to select appropriate literature.
Interaction with youngsters leads to class discussions on mentoring practices. Responding to specific questions in their Book Buddies Journals becomes an evaluation tool.
Community Activities
Adolescents who learn to interact and read aloud with children send a strong message that education and reading are important.
Careers
Students gain first hand experience working with children and learn about teaching and childcare careers. They also develop lifelong skills in parenting and literacy advocacy.
Materials
The Read Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease, 1995: Penguin Books; Students As Teacher by M. L. Gregory, 1995: J. Weston Walch; assorted children’s books, journals, markers, and crayons. 		Technology
High school mentors exchange e-mail messages with their Book Buddies and access the Internet for information on children’s literature and teaching.
Assessment
Student Book Buddies Journals provide an essential tool for teacher and students to evaluate mentoring Read Aloud sessions.

Web Sites
Both Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators and http://teachnet.org/ offer resources and give potential teachers powerful insights about the profession.