Reading Buddies with Storytime – Join the Fun!

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Today, we’re excited to launch our Storytime Reading Buddies Scheme, which is free to schools everywhere and you can get it here.

What is a reading buddy? A reading buddy is quite simply someone who will sit and read to a child who isn’t quite ready for reading alone – a reading mentor, if you like. The child could be an an early reader or struggling with reading or daunted by it. Let’s face it, nobody is born with the ability to read.Without a reading buddy in some form, mastering letters, sounds, words and sentence structures would have been so much harder to achieve. Having a reading buddy is a huge boon to reading success. In fact, there’s solid research to support the idea that peer-to-peer reading (i.e. reading buddies) among school pupils is especially effective.

 

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Reading Buddies Can Be…

  • An older pupil or sibling
  • A parent or carer
  • A grandparent
  • A teacher, teaching assistant or librarian
  • A reading volunteer, such as from the wonderful reading charity, Beanstalk
  • Or even a younger sibling reading to an older sibling

 

In our Storytime Reading Buddies Scheme pack, the focus is on encouraging older pupils to read to younger pupils in a school setting. However, it has applications beyond school. There’s no reason why you can’t use it at home too, for instance. Our pack has been developed with valuable input from headteachers and KS1 and KS2 English leads. It can be used with your Storytime magazine collection or books. Alternatively, use whatever reading material you think is best to engage an early, reluctant or struggling reader.

The pack comes with tips for setting up a Reading Buddies Scheme (for both teachers and older pupils), as well as printable progress cards, badges and certificates. Plus activities for the end of each session. And it’s all completely free!

The benefits of paired or peer-to-peer reading are wide-ranging and long-lasting – and sometimes unexpected in a positive way. To find out exactly how Storytime Reading Buddies Scheme can have a positive impact on young readers in your school or at home, nip over to our Storytime for Schools website to find out more.

For more ideas on spicing up reading sessions at school or home, also check out 5 Reading Styles That Really Work and discover how to get the best from Shared Reading too.

 

Make sure you buddy up with someone this week!