Do you know the look of wonder and joy that children get on their face when they listen to someone reading them a story？Schools across the nation are bringing in volunteers to guide children in this very way. If you simply enjoy spending time with children, being a reading volunteer can be a great way to help support the upcoming generation of readers.
Reading volunteers work with elementary school age children to promote reading. They may read books to children, listen to children read aloud, or distribute books to school children. Reading volunteers promote the activity of reading, rather than focusing on teaching reading skills. They may read to a whole class of children, to a small group, or be assigned a child to read to one-on-one. During the time they spend with new readers, reading volunteers encourage them to learn to read.
Almost anyone who knows how to read can be a reading volunteer. High school students, college students, parents, grandparents, and police officers are just an example of the kinds of people who become reading volunteers. Being able to read and wanting to spend time inspiring children to read are the only skills needed to be a successful reading volunteer.
Several educational research studies show that children who are involved in programs with adult reading volunteers improve their school performance levels. For example, in 1998, researcher Sara Rimm-Kaufmann found that first graders involved in a program with an adult reading volunteer three times a week had better letter recognition and reading skills than similar first graders who hadn't been involved in such groups. In 2000, the Eugene Research Institute found that fifth graders who had been in "SMART", an adult volunteer literacy program, were 60% more likely to have grade-level scores in standardized reading tests. Moreover, a 2006 study by Brian Volkmann showed that children who were read to by adult volunteers had improved school attendance, which is a major predictor of high school graduation rates.
In addition, reading volunteers themselves can gain a lot of benefits that range from expanding their personal networks to adding valuable skills to their resumes. They also enjoy the special time they get to spend with young children. Many volunteers have heart-warming stories to share with the children they read to. The volunteers know that they are inspiring young children with a proved educational strategy. So, if you have time, energy, and skill to support children's literacy, it is a good idea to sign up to be a reading volunteer.
| Topic: Reading Volunteers | |
| General information | ★Reading stories to children can bring them much pleasure. ★Employing reading volunteers for kids is a practice in schools nationwide. ★Being a reading volunteer is a good way to support children. |
| The work of a reading volunteer | ★Read to children, listen to them read or give out books to them. ★Pay attention to the reading itself instead of teaching reading to children. ★Offer to them while new readers learn to read. |
| for being a reading volunteer | ★Have the basic reading ability. ★Have the desire to inspire children to read. |
| of reading volunteer programs | ★Improve the school children's skills at letters and reading. ★Enable children to standardized tests more easily. ★Inspire children to avoid classes. ★Develop and improve volunteers' with others. ★Admit volunteers to obtain valuable skills to increase chance of landing a . ★Give volunteers opportunities to enjoy the happy time with children. |
