PARP –Parents and Peers as Reading Partners
After School Program – Tuesdays and Thursdays Oct-March– Snack while listening to a story– Read one on one to partner– Craft, writing or team-building activity– Late bus or pick-up
PARP
• Community Events
S’mores and Scary Stories
Movie Night and Book Swap
Family Game Night & Scrabble Tournament
Personal Motivation for starting PARP
• Involvement with Literacy Volunteers– Head Start and GED program– Farida, Willie, Boris– One on one help works, reading’s importance
• Work study with 3rd graders in Syracuse– There are a lot of children who need help learning
to read
• Teaching High School Science in NC– It is very difficult to do well in other subject areas if
students cannot read near grade level
PARP Guiding Principles
• Importance of Early Practice• Paired Reading• One-on-One Attention
• Biweekly meetings to maximize results and improvement
• Community Involvement– Mr. Whitehead and Presbyterian Stone
Church
PARP After School Program Participant Benefits
Benefits to Learners• Practice improves
reading skills• Better readers do
better in school• Doing well in school
means more life choices
Benefits to Tutors• Positive force for
good• Resume’• Good place to be• Laughter• Food and parties• ? Scholarship
The Importance of Practice
• Skilled readers enjoy reading and read a lot independently
• Struggling readers find reading difficult and frustrating so they avoid it
• Continual reading practice causes good readers to far surpass poor readers
• Practice will improve reading skills• (Stanovich, 1986)
The Importance of Practice
0
10203040506070
8090
100
1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade
StrugglingGood
The Importance of Practice
0102030405060708090
100
1st Grade 2ndGrade
3rd Grade 4th Grade
Struggling
Good
Struggling +Practice
The Importance of Practice
• Encouraging practice when students are learning to read, will make them better readers
• Once they are better readers, they will practice more
• More practice will make them even better readers
Peer Tutoring Perks
• Improves the skills of tutors as well as tutees (Ehly, 1986)
• Builds tutor social skills (Garcia-Vazquez & Ehly, 1995)
• Motivates tutees
Important Tutoring Guidelines Which Ensure Success
(Garcia-Vazquez& Ehly, 1995) • Selecting peer tutoring activities that
supplement classroom instruction• Providing thorough training to peer
tutors in the essential elements of the tutoring process
• Ensuring the peer tutors have mastered the essentials before meeting with tutees
Important Tutoring Guidelines Which Ensure Success
(Garcia-Vazquez& Ehly, 1995)
• Adopting research-based treatments to improve the reading skills of tutees– Paired reading is a research-based instructional
technique that increases reading fluency– The National Reading Panel’s comprehensive
review of reading instruction techniques concluded that “practices that encourage repeated oral reading with feedback and guidance leads to meaningful improvements in expertise for students-for good readers as well as those who are experiencing difficulties (NRP, 2000, p.3-3).”
Important Tutoring Guidelines Which Ensure Success
(Garcia-Vazquez& Ehly, 1995)
• Conducting periodic ‘tutoring integrity checks’– Focus on appropriate activities, praise, and
timely use of corrective feedback
• Monitoring the effectiveness of peer tutoring– Look for improvements in reading fluency
and comprehension
Training Curriculum
• Lesson 1: Procedures and Positive Behaviors
• Lesson 2: How to Give Tutees Compliments
• Lesson 3: Strategies to Build Reading Fluency - Paired Reading
• Lesson 4: Writing for Reading• Lesson 5: Review and Graduation
PARP 2009-2010
• 31 K-4th graders assisted with reading– 21 students faithfully attended– 5 K, 4 1st, 8 2nd, 4 3rd, 1 4th graders – 13 students attended for part of the year
• 28 volunteer reading partners– 8 adults, 6 regularly – 20 MCS students, 2 faithfully
PARP 2009-2010
• DIBELs Test Results– Kindergarteners - Started with 3 Benchmark
Students, 1 Strategic...Ended with 4 Benchmark students
– 1st graders - (1 no data) Started with 1 Intense, 2 Benchmark...Ended with 1 Intense, 1 Strategic, 1 Benchmark
– 2nd graders - Started with 6 Benchmark students, 2 Strategic...Ended with 4 Benchmark Students, 4 Strategic Students
– 3rd graders - Stayed the same– 4th grader - no data
Reactions to Data
• How would the children have done without PARP? How do they compare to their classmates who didn’t attend PARP?
• The right students are getting involved in the program
• There is room for improvement• Would other “soft data” show improvement?• What measurements should be used to
assess the program’s success?
PARP 2009-2010
• Lessons learned– While the library is nicer and quieter, the
kids are more productive in the wireless lab– Book selection is challenging for students,
books from the classroom are best– Kindergarteners are not appropriate for the
regular PARP program, they do well with Sandy Wright in a small group
PARP 2009-2010
• Lessons learned (cont.)– Adult volunteer reading partners and 4th
grade volunteers reliably come– Most young readers reliably come– Student of the Month Assembly is nice!– 1st graders subjectively show a lot of
progress– Students enjoy participating, no problems
involving young readers
PARP 2009-2010
• Lessons learned - budget– $10/week for juice and crackers from the
cafeteria– $5/child and reading partner for awards– $40/pizza party
PARP 2010-2011
• Changes– Attendance Policy– Focus on all interested K & 1st graders,
and teacher-selected 2nd and 3rd graders– Recruitment of 4th-6th grade reading
partners– Monthly reading partner meetings
PARP 2010-2011
• Changes– Dissolution of the PTSA– Liability insurance through Haylor, Freyer & Coon,
Inc. as coordinated by Leslie Hockey– S’mores and Scary Stories fund raiser 10/29 after
school– ?Applying to become a non-profit corporation– ?Tutor incentives– ?Scholarship for graduating senior
Thank you MCS
• Ruth Lincoln - support & awards assembly• Natalie Panshin - library use• Debbie Aldrich - volunteer reading part.• Jane Wagoner - snacks• Ms. Miller, Ms. O’Donnell, Mr. Doyle, Ms.
Emrich, Ms. Gibson, Ms. Aldrich, Mr. Paradis - baggies of books
• Ms. Bissell, Ms. Ritchie, & Mr. Nowak - classroom use
Suggestions
• Program duration
• Students to involve
• Chapter books to read aloud
• Community contacts 344-7538 or [email protected] or Ms. Woodside
• Communication
• ?Links to Strategic Plan