When Should It Be Taught?
Reading buddies can be implemented at any time throughout the school year. When scheduling a time during a school day, it might helpful to think about when students have the energy and focus to interact with someone outside of the school. Teachers may choose to schedule the time early in the morning or during lunchtime, when students are most alert and attentive, or at the end of the day because students find the meetings motivating, teachers can use the meetings to keep students on task.
What Does It Look Like?
Reading buddies can meet in any space that is conducive to reading. Classrooms, media centers, reading nooks, or any quiet and comfortable place that is available can be a good place for reading buddies to meet. Pillows, beanbag chairs, and even an old bath tub can encourage students to read!
How Can You Make It Happen?
Goal Setting
In setting up a reading buddies program, first establish the goals. You may want to do this with the principal and reading specialist of your school. Do you want to provide support to emerging readers? Do you want to specifically support students with reading difficulties? Is one of your goals to promote interaction between the school and the community? Do you want your class to be the older or younger buddies?
Reading buddies can be set up as a one-on-one or a small-group program. Sometimes it is designed specifically for students who are having difficulty learning to read. Sometimes the goal is to involve the community in the school's activities, promoting community engagement and accountability.
Developing a Partnership
To implement this program, you will need to develop a partnership. If your students are older, think about setting up a kid-to-kid reading buddies program in which your students read to younger students. If you would like the reading buddies to be students in the same school, find a teacher in your school who is willing to partner with your class. Think about developing a partnership with a children's center, elementary school class, or local library in your community. If your students are younger, think about setting up an adult-to-student Reading Buddies. Consider a partnership with a group of professionals, community members, or volunteers.
Logistics
Once a partnership is established, older students can write an introductory letter to their buddies. You may want to organize the program before the first meeting: Meeting times, lengths, and places should be arranged, and buddies should be matched or groups formed. Inform parents about the program, and invite other parents and community members to participate. The most important consideration is finding a time and place that will provide consistency for both older and younger buddies.
Consider having the book buddies come up with a name for the project. Students at Southwest Miami High School called their project "Reading BEES," which stands for "Reading Benefits Everyone and Encourages Studies." Their slogan was Buzzing our way to a better education. They had a bee logo and ran a poster contest.
