Yesterday I attended the annual Book Buddies Fall Tutor Training at Greenbrier Elementary in preparation for my becoming a Book Buddy this year as a JABA FISH volunteer at Jackson -Via Elementary.
The presentation by Jeanette Rosenberg, Book Buddies Coordinator, together with reading coordinators from the participating schools was an excellent introduction to the program that has been so successful in Charlottesville City Schools for so many years. We learned about the four-part lesson plan and how to use the materials.
I especially enjoyed the videotape of Emily Flory of Jackson-Via proceeding through the four-part lesson with a very engaged (and cute!) student. Both Emily and the student were so enthusiastic about the whole process!
Now I am waiting to hear the name of my Book Buddy for this year, and I will report from time to time how things are going for me in this new and exciting teaching/learning experience.
Book Buddies is a research-based one-on-one tutorial program that supports reading instruction in the classroom.
It enlists trained community volunteers to provide instruction to first and second grade students who need extra support in literacy acquisition.
The program is in its twelfth year of operation in the school division. There are approximately 120 tutor-student pairs who are supervised by eight reading specialists at five elementary schools.
Volunteers are trained to become effective tutors in a two-hour group session in September and a follow-up building-level session in January. They receive additional support throughout the year by the reading specialists at each school. A published manual is made available to the new tutors.
The reading coordinators write individualized lesson plans for each tutoring session. They assess the students three times a year, participate in scheduling, and maintain communication with the students’ classroom teachers.
Research data shows that students are achieving, as evidenced by increases on measures of alphabet and word recognition. The Book Buddies Program has attracted widespread national attention at reading conferences and in national and international professional journals. It has been replicated throughout Virginia and around the nation. The Book Buddies Program is the recipient of the Virginia State Reading Association’s 1997 Literacy Award.
Program Coordinator:
Ms. Jeanette Rosenberg
(434) 245-2415
Jeanette.Rosenberg@ccs.k12.va.us
Live & Learn! 