Volunteers Help Students Read with Confidence
If you are lucky enough to have read a book that captivated you, you know what an amazing feeling it is to have been completely absorbed by simple words – words that resonated with you and transported you somewhere else. What if you could encourage a student to read and help them discover that magic?
In a few short weeks school buses will be back on the roads and students will make their way back onto classrooms.
According to The Children’s Reading Foundation, “Reading is the most crucial academic skill because it is the foundation for learning. Through third grade children are learning to read; after third grade students read to learn. But only one in three students read proficiently at that point. One of the most important predictors of graduating from high school is reading proficiently by the end of third grade.”
At RSVP, 208 volunteer literacy tutors are gearing up by attending workshops to prepare for the return of students and the phenomenon known as “summer learning loss” or “brain drain.” It’s estimated that most students fall behind about one month’s worth of schoolyear learning (a gap more widely noticed in disadvantaged students). Many teachers spend the first several weeks re-teaching what students have forgotten over the summer months. Sadly, many students never really catch up and begin to fall behind.
How Tutors Help Students
Several dedicated RSVP volunteers are working to change this trend by coaching students in their classrooms. One such volunteer, Marsha Nesson, worked with 3rd and 4th graders at Cole Manor Elementary School in Norristown this past school year.
Marsha’s spent part of her career utilizing her degree in Special Education working with children with learning differences. After her retirement she was searching for something that would be useful to others and fulfilling to her. Marsha felt that working with students would be the ticket and she was placed in a classroom.
She confessed “I do what the teacher asks me to do but I also use my own sense of what would be helpful for each individual child. Often kids who are struggling are frustrated about not reading well. I reassure them that they can do better. We practice reading and focus on every success.”
Volunteers visit classrooms each week and read with students. Encouraging a student to read aloud forces them to read more slowly and helps with comprehension as well as word pronunciation. Volunteers attend training sessions to help develop tools and strategies to help students who need support and practice. Working closely with teachers, volunteers provide the individual session busy teachers simply do not have time for.
Phil Kline began volunteering at Garrettford Elementary School in Drexel Hill last year. He worked with 4th graders and a second grader to help the students read more confidently. “I like working individually with students because I get a sense of where the student is struggling and can focus on that area. I try to get the students to relax by just talking with them. Many of the students I work with are reading relatively well but not comprehending or making connections enough.”
Brenna King, the teacher Phil works with had this to say: “The student he works with from my class has shown dramatic improvement in reading fluency and comprehension. He makes connections with students and helps them feel excited about reading and school.”
Phil continued, “This is the most rewarding volunteer opportunity for me because one of the students I worked with came to tell me the news ‘Mr. Kline, I just got my test score back and I got the best score in class for reading.’” Getting Started If we can improve the reading skills of our students, do we provide them with opportunities for success later in life? More than likely. At least that’s what RSVP believes.
RSVP’s dedicated America Reads volunteers donated a total of more than 8.948 hours assisting 1,950 children in 64 schools throughout Montgomery, Chester and Delaware counties this past year.
Volunteers work either individually or in small groups with students who have been identified by the teacher as needing special attention. Volunteers work to make reading more enjoyable encouraging self-confidence and reading success. Students feel safe with an adult volunteer who is providing gentle encouragement and individual attention, enabling students to take risks in decoding and comprehension which they may not be comfortable doing in a classroom setting in front of their peers. Students can more confidently predict story outcomes and discuss them more openly and as a result become more competent readers because of the positive interaction they have with the volunteers.
Workshops are being held now for volunteers interested in children’s literacy programs. A session on August 22nd in Media will prepare volunteers to work with students.
Reading with an America Reads volunteer provides students with an opportunity to practice their reading skills and openly discuss the content. It’s like a book club for kids.