Program Objectives
- Provide early literacy experiences that prepare pre-k aged children for kindergarten
- Support reading improvements and mentorship skills among older elementary school students
- Provide leadership opportunities to students appointed to manage weekly check-out/in of books
- Ensure that program implementation is seamless and easy for teachers.
Young family members are read to as early as 6 months of age and may be read to over a span of up to three years as participating student readers move through grades 4, 5, and 6. This continuity provides the youngest children with extended early exposure to language, learning and literature, and increases the likelihood of successful outcomes and growth. When siblings read to siblings, family bonds are strengthened, family literacy practices are nurtured, and generational cycles of low literacy are broken.
Read to Me Project’s staff of program coordinators support program implementation throughout the school year. Coordinators provide on-going support to teachers, students, and book-bin managers. Each class is provided with an initial classroom presentation, book-bin manager training, four student coaching sessions when effective oral reading skills are taught and practiced. In addition, four small group check-ins are held with students reading to little ones at home.
Student Goal
To read to the little ones at home at least 4 days a week during the school year and to have read at least 100 days by the end of the school year.
Teacher’s Role and Responsibilities
Your engagement and support will help ensure your students’ success as Read to Me Project readers, mentors, and leaders and will impact their entire families too! Three responsibilities are easy and involve just minutes of your time.
- Appoint two organized, reliable students to serve as book-bin managers who will be trained and coached on the responsibility by your Read to Me Project program coordinator. THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY IN SUPPORT OF DEVELOPING LEADERSHIP SKILLS IN YOUR SELECTED STUDENTS.
- Schedule a regular time every week for students to check their books in and out and for recording with the book-bin manager the number of days they read to their little one that week. Checking books out/in only takes about 15 minutes per week.
- Regularly encourage your participating students to read to the little ones at home, insist that the borrowed books be returned on time, and generally keep an eye on the weekly book check-in/check-out process.
Implementation Process
- Once the per class fees are approved, a contract is provided to your school administrator. Having received that commitment, a Read to Me Project Program Coordinator is assigned to your school.
- A Read to Me Project program coordinator will conduct a program orientation for the school’s 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers. All 4th – 6th grade teachers are invited to include Read to Me Project in their classroom.
- The program coordinator will be assigned to your class and will launch the program with a presentation to your students at the beginning of the school year. Your students learn about early brain and language development and the importance of reading to young children. They are also introduced to effective oral reading techniques. At the conclusion of the class presentation, students may “enroll” to participate in the program for the school year.
- Students who are eligible should have a young child ages 6 months to 5 years old living in their home whom they could read to every day. This child can be a younger sibling, a cousin, or a niece/nephew.
- Teachers are provided with guidelines, information and materials to support and facilitate their students’ successful participation in the program.
- Each participating classroom is provided with a book bin filled with age-appropriate books. The books are carefully chosen for content, developmental level and ease of reading.
- Two responsible and organized students (who may not necessarily have young siblings to read to at home) are appointed by their teacher to serve as book-bin managers for the class.
- Each week, students take home a book to read four days or more to their youngest family members. The books are checked-out/checked-in and each student’s number of days read is recorded in the classroom reading log by the trained book-bin managers.
- Your program coordinator will work directly with you and school administrators to schedule program sessions, trainings, book giveaways, and end of year awards.
- Data is collected throughout the school year. Student enrollment forms, end-of-year student and teacher surveys and student reading log data are collected, analyzed and shared with school site and district administration and funders. Data is also used to calculate student and teacher awards.
- Students and teachers are recognized for their commitment and participation. At the end of the school year each student who participates in a meaningful way receives a certificate of recognition. Students who read 100 days or more receive a medal. Teachers who achieve consistent weekly book check-out throughout the school year will receive special recognition and a Lamp of Learning medal. All students are encouraged to continue to read to themselves and to their little ones to avoid the “summer slide”.
