By Sandi Latimer
Staff Writer
Kindergarten student Gabriel Mondragon-Ramirez, left, points to pictures as middle school student Gleysi Quintanilla helps him with reading. The two paired up in a special program where older students help the younger ones in an English as a Second Language session. The pairing of the two age groups also fosters mentorships and helps build relationships. The two groups get together twice a month at the Prairie Norton Elementary School.
Kindergarten children gathered round librarian Maureen Sullivan, listening intently to the story she was reading. Suddenly, the stillness in the library erupted into a moment as gleeful as though a word Sullivan had read meant recess.
The trigger was the arrival of middle school students next door to Prairie Norton Elementary School with a book in their hands. The younger children quickly found their reading buddy and paired off for 30 minutes of reading.
That morning was the regularly scheduled English as a Second Language (ESL) lesson, a session held twice a month.
The program is designed to foster a mentorship in the older students while building relationships. It also has a positive influence on the younger children whose first exposure to English on a regular basis often comes when they enter school, according to both Sullivan, the librarian at the elementary school, and Kellye Schroder, the language arts teacher at neighboring Norton Middle School.
Since the collaboration centers on books, it also promotes reading.
“By this time of the year, the students should also feel comfortable talking with each other,” Sullivan said.
But more was at stake during this particular session. It was the first one after the birthday of famed children’s author Dr. Seuss. The library was decorated with red, white, and aqua crepe-paper streamers. Books of all kinds and reading levels were not only on the shelves, but also on tables, easily accessible to students.
It kicked off Right to Read Week with a variety of activities, one of which was to wear pajamas. And yes, some of the younger children were wearing pajamas.
Each day featured a fun activity, including a read-a-thon. When an announcement came over the PA system, students dropped what they were doing, grabbed a book and went into the hallway to sit down and read for 15 minutes.
Students were also asked to do book reports on what they had been reading. For the young ones, they could circle emoticons to explain how the book made them feel. And they could draw something that showed their favorite part of the book.
By the end of the school year, the kindergarten students will be expected to be able to recognize words and understand their meanings.
At the end of the 30 minutes, Schroeder and her students returned to their classrooms next door and the kindergarten students went to their rooms, leaving the library and Sullivan in silence amid the books and streamers.
