Book Buddies Reading Program

PTA and the SITE Council of Sierra View Elementary School sponsor the Book Buddies Reading Program in order to increase reading fluency and comprehension as well as to enhance self-esteem for first and second grade students.  Young readers are paired with a caring adult to become “book buddies”.  Students gain the opportunity to obtain the additional practice and confidence often needed to become a successful reader.    Adult tutors are volunteers from the school and community who are committed to helping young children learn to read.  Tutors participate in an initial training program and receive ongoing support and training provided by the program coordinators.   Tutors are trained to assist young children in becoming better readers.  Tutors work with individual students in a one-on-one situation for thirty minutes up to three times a week.  Tutors begin each day with a review of the previous day’s reading selections before students are introduced to a new book.  Tutors are trained to model expression, echo read, read together and provide coaching assistance as the student reads.  Tutors use the coaching method of “Pause, Prompt and Praise:, to help students to develop the use of self-correction strategies in order to encourage independent reading skills.   Students and tutors enjoy reading the set of literature books provided by the book Buddies Reading Program.  The set contains numerous titles that are arranged by level of difficulty so that students may successfully build reading fluency and comprehension.   Sierra View Elementary first and second grade teachers work together with Program Director and Teacher Coordinators to select students to select students who will benefit most from this program.  Book Buddies Reading Program is held in the school library where program materials are maintained.