Reading is better with a buddy and the timing for a March Madness book tournament is just right. Interactive literature programs are fueling students’ love for reading at Summit Academy Community School – Cincinnati.
An engaging Reading Buddies program pairs elementary students with those in middle school for a 25-minute reading session every Thursday. It is the brainchild of kindergarten teacher Kathryn Brown, 5-8 grade ELA teacher Erin Homan and 1-2 grade teacher Briana Ireton .
“Our goal is to build reading confidence with the older students and foster a deeper love for reading with the younger students. We also wanted to develop leadership with the older students,” Brown says.
The program engages students in grades K-2 with those in 7-8 grades. While the older students build their fluency and confidence as readers, the younger ones are nurturing a love for reading, explains Brown.
“There is a joy in reading and friendships are being created. It is something that all students look forward to at the end of
the week,” she says.
Ireton adds that Reading Buddies, launched last year, has given the elementary students a safe space in which they can read decodable books aloud. “It also has helped our upper school students in their read aloud skills, relationship building and stepping out of their comfort zone in working with youngers students they may not otherwise interact with,” she says.
Homan, who teaches the seventh and eighth graders, says she and her colleagues pair students according to their compatibility. The students’ positive collaboration is validating. “The eighth graders love the time they can spend with their buddy and look forward to it every week,” she says.
Curriculum Administrator Jessica Hahn praised the educators, noting “I am so impressed by what the teachers are doing.”
Meanwhile, Book Madness, a bracket-style tournament led by teachers Madison Bradford, Ireton and Brown, is literally off the charts in popularity. At the end of each school day the teachers read two books — with a common theme or author– aloud to their K-3 students. The students then each vote on their favorite of the two books. The book with the most votes moves forward in the tournament.
The winning books to date are “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” “How to Catch a Class Pet,” “The Couch Potato” and “The Cat in the Hat.” Upcoming books include “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” vs. “If You Give a Cat a Cupcake,” “Where the Wild Things Are” vs. “Strega Nona,” “Solitary Animals” vs. “The Home Builders” and “Hair Love” vs. “I Love My Hair.”
Ireton says the program is encouraging students to practice active listening and discuss why they selected a specific book. “Students have shown a high level of engagement in our first year with the book tournament,” she says.
“The one big thing I have noticed about the March Madness read aloud is that it creates a sense of community in the lower grade levels. They all get super excited to gather and listen to a story,” adds Bradford. She says the program helps show children that reading and the exploration of books can be fun. “When it comes time to pick the books it shows that the students have been fully engaged during the read aloud. It is one of my favorite times of the day.”
“The students love it,” adds Brown, noting that the children and teachers gather in a large hallway space to make the book tournament “feel extra special.”