What is the Primary Goal of Volunteer Reading

This might seem like an obvious question/answer but I don’t think it is. Furthermore, depending on what your primary goal is will affect how you go about the process. Let me explain what I mean.

Sometimes a volunteer reader will read to the entire class. This seems to be the case when there is not an assistant to the teacher in the classroom. By having the volunteer read to the entire class, it frees up some time for the teacher to catch up on other things or to work one-on-one with other students. Technically the volunteer is there to promote the joy of reading with the students but the real purpose (IMO) is to entertain the students so the teacher can get some other things done. If this is the situation in which you find yourself, I would recommend large books with great artwork that all students can see (sometimes the school system will have purchased extra large books for this purpose, so it may be worth asking about). Another good choice would be books that encourage the students to move or participate in some way, like sing along books. Great choices for this type of situation could be Pete the Cat I Love My White Shoes or Is Everyone Ready for Fun but check with the teacher first to determine if these books would be disruptive to what s/he is doing.

Many volunteer readers are retired school teachers. The ones I have met make amazing readers because they know all the tips and tricks. Some might argue that the most important goal of a volunteer reader is to help children learn - how to read and in general. If this is your primary goal then you may decide to work in small groups and include some kind of hands on activity to go with the book. When I read “Mouse Shapes” I bring a felt board and felt shapes and let the children recreate the shapes in the book with the felt pieces. At the end of the book, I’ll encourage the students to use the shapes to make anything they want. The students love this activity and often ask to do it again. And it certainly helps them to enjoy read time more. I’ll be writing more about activities with books in the future. Please feel free to contribute your ideas about this as well.

I’m not a retired school teacher. And I probably can’t read to the class as well as experienced teachers can or coordinate the activities as well. So I try to focus on my unique strengths. I prefer to work with one or two students at a time and my goal is this: for any student who is so inclined, allow them to discover their own love for books and reading. Not just the how of reading, but the why.

I like read time to be a choice that the student makes, and I like to provide the students with a variety of books that they can choose from. When I first started volunteering, my teacher would choose the student(s) and tell them it was time to read with me. After I got to know my teacher, I asked her if instead of telling the students it was time to read with me, if it would be OK to ask them if they wanted to instead. My teacher seemed surprised by this question, but to her wonderful credit, she agreed to try it. To her surprise I think, almost every time we asked a student if they wanted to read with me, they said yes. Reading time was now a ‘get to’ and not a ‘have to’. Next, I pull all of the books out of my bag and allow the student to pick which one(s) they want to read. I’m slightly amazed but probably shouldn’t be that the students each have their own unique likes and dislikes (just like grownups!). Usually, each child will develop a favorite and I’ll be sure to bring that favorite book back for at least a few sessions.

I had one young boy, Jack, who told me that “books were boring”. He was more interested in telling me about his video games instead. “Well that’s just because you haven’t read the right books yet”, I replied. I sought out to find the book that would capture his interest. I brought him books about superheroes, trucks and animals, but I wasn’t capturing his interest as much as I had hoped. One day, I read him a funny book, “Rhyming Dust Bunnies” by Jan Thomas. Jack thought the book was hysterical and asked to read it again. The next week he ran up asking “Did you bring more funny books?” Of course I did! and he was first on my list to read that day. He also asked for his buddy to join us and the three of us had a great time reading and laughing. It was a very satisfying day.

When a child falls in love with a book, they want to read it over and over and over. It becomes a sense of continuity. They seem to relax into the familiarity and cadence of the book. When a child loves a book, and especially when they start to read it themselves, you see a sense of joy, calm and confidence come over them. It’s a beautiful thing to experience.

I can personally vouch for the fact that it only takes one beloved book to change a child’s life and inspire a lifetime of reading. You can read my personal story about How One Book Saved My Life if you’re interested.

I would love to hear your thoughts about the purpose of volunteer reading and how you go about it. Please add your comments below!