HIGHLIGHTS: KEEPING LITTLE READERS ENGAGED…ONE AT A TIME…SPRING TERM SCHEDULES…

KEEPING LITTLE READERS ENGAGED

With thanks to Krystyna Stoic (SC Malvern) and Angie Heydon (SC Yorkwoods) for sharing their “best practices” around keeping VRP sessions interesting and engaging:

Some highlights from an email that Krystyna sent to Malvern volunteers who asked for some advice:

If the readers scheduled at a certain time are being pulled from "free time" in class, jump to a different classroom instead. It's ok to shuffle the order of the kids being taken depending on what is going on in class at that time. (For instance, when I have kids who are meant to be in gym class during their assigned time, I swap the blocks since no one wants to miss gym!)

If a child seems less enthusiastic about reading a decodeable or leveled text choose story books, play word games, use cue cards, practicing writing / sounding out simple words on the white boards etc.  Switching from straight reading to different activities within the session may pique their interest again. Also switch up the activities during the allotted time. I had one little boy last year who barely read the levelled readers. We spent several sessions drawing different animals then we'd work on sounding out how to spell them.

Sometimes they need to know what to expect for example: "Today we are going to start with some cue cards. Let's pick 5 and work on those. Then let's spell out some words with the magnets. Then I'll read two books to you". Or even better, provide options and let them tell you what they want to do and the order.

Overall, don't worry too much about having them read solidly the whole time and move through the levels. Even chatting with them, having them play games with the letters, cue cards, using the white boards to draw and spell out simple words is all useful. 

From Angie when she was asked for tips for new volunteers who don’t have a teaching background:

My suggestions when struggling to maintain a little reader’s interest:

1. Relax. These are 6 and 7 year olds who have minds of their own.

2. Try to get them talking about things they like, e.g. “What’s your favourite thing to do at school? Outside of school?”

3. Try to find a book to read that aligns with the interest they’ve expressed.

4. AND/OR: Ask them to draw a picture of the activity or thing they’re interested in. As they draw, ask them questions about it. As the child responds, look for words to write down and sound out. (Magnetic letters are great for this.)

…this has worked well with my very reluctant reader who happens to love cats.

ONE AT A TIME

If you find yourself without a reading partner please take one child at a time.  We know it is difficult when children beg to attend VRP with their friends but sometimes even the most well-behaved children get excited when they are with their friends and classmates. When that happens, they can easily feed off one another’s energy, which can make it harder for everyone to focus on reading.  This is one of the reasons VRP is designed as a one-on-one reading experience, which allows each child to receive your full attention and support. Working individually helps students feel more comfortable, build confidence, and make the most of their time with you.  There are also important safety considerations, as working with one child at a time ensures that sessions remain calm, focused, and in line with program guidelines.

SPRING TERM SCHEDULES

Most schedules are finished and final versions will be posted online next week.  Please remember to get in touch with your reading team if you can’t attend on your regular reading day.  Also, if you have a partner who didn’t make it please let your School Coordinator(SC) know so they can follow up and make sure everything is ok!  Huge thanks to the SCs for their work getting schedules completed this term.