Reading Buddies
Excel’s cross-age Reading Buddies Program is starting Trimester 2! This is a cooperative learning model that pairs younger-student classrooms with older-student classrooms with reading time. Younger students practice reading their leveled reading with older students who assist and ask questions. Older students can also read some higher leveled reading books with reading comprehension questions.
Benefits of a Reading Buddies Program
“Little Buddies”
- Younger students get peer modeling of fluency, expression, and phrasing.
- Younger students get a positive role model.
- Interactions can improve oral language skills like vocabulary.
“Big Buddies”
- Older students develop important social-emotional skills like empathy and patience.
- Older students who struggle to read at grade level develop confidence.
- Promotes and strengthens responsibility and leadership skills.
All
- Can incentivize both younger and older students.
- Builds community in the school.