Learners will team with younger children from an elementary school by reading a book to them and discussing it. They will make a connection between the story and the lives of the children.

Anticipatory Set:

Ask students if they have younger brothers or sisters who enjoy having books read to them. Have them try to remember when they were in second grade. Would they have liked to have a teenager help them with school work or teach them games?

• Day One: Share with the students the “Facts About Literacy” ( Attachment Three ) discuss the importance of literacy.
• Ask the learners how they first became involved with books and were there stories that were read to them that they especially liked hearing? Explain to the learners that they can help younger students become better readers and in the process become better readers themselves. They each have been matched with two learners from the nearby elementary school and will read and discuss a book with them. Ask for concerns and questions about the project. From the books gathered for this project, allow a few minutes for the learners to select the books they will be using.
• In order for the learners to know how to get started, the teacher should model the reading technique, using The Legend of the Bluebonnet , to be used by the learners while helping younger children. Model the following techniques:
• Choose a reading space away from others.
• Name the title, author and illustrator.
• Read slowly and with dramatic emphasis (after having practiced alone to gain fluency).
• Hold the book so others can see the pictures.
• Point out how pictures add meaning to the story.
• Discuss the main idea of the story and how it relates to his or her life and the younger learners' lives. (In this story the teacher can emphasize the philanthropic act by She-Who-Is-Alone.)
• Divide the class into groups of three. Have each learner practice reading his/her book aloud to the other two learners in the group. Encourage team members to provide helpful suggestions to improve the readings.
• Day Two: Travel to the elementary grade classroom and form groups of a middle school learner with his/her two children. Learners should introduce themselves to their team and read their picture book aloud, remembering to incorporate the strategies from Day One.
• Choose a reading space away from others.
• Give the name of the title, author and illustrator.
• Read slowly and with dramatic emphasis.
• Hold the book so others can see the pictures.
• Point out how the pictures add meaning to the story.
• Discuss the main idea of the story and how it relates to their life and their children's lives.
• Before ending, the middle school learner should ask the children how they liked the story and ask what they would like to do next time.
• Day Three: Form a sharing circle to reflect on the success of meeting the objectives. Move desks into a circle so everyone can see each other and there is no position with more “power” than anyone else. Share feelings and problems from yesterday's activity. Brainstorm ideas with the rest of the class about what would have made yesterday's session better.
• Let the learners reflect on the value of their experience with the elementary children.
• Did they feel there was value to what they did?
• How will the elementary children gain from the experience?
• Was their contribution to the learning of the elementary children something that was worthwhile?
• By reading to the elementary children, were they giving of their time, their talent or their treasure?
• Define philanthropy as “giving of one's time, talent or treasure for the sake of another or for the common good; voluntary giving or voluntary service primarily for the benefit of others. Ask for examples of the giving of time, the giving of talent and the giving of treasure. Inquire whether the learners feel that their time spent with the elementary children was an example of philanthropy.
• Ask the learners why they believe others perform acts of philanthropy. When they go back to the elementary school to work with their teams again, what might be their own motives for doing it? In conclusion, have each advisory learner complete the following in his/her reflection journal: “Reading to my children yesterday made me realize that…”

None for this lesson.