America Reads
About America Reads
America Reads began as a national literacy campaign with the goal of enabling all children to read well and independently by the end of third grade. America Reads is no longer federally funded, but it continues through local support, using undergraduate and community volunteers to help achieve its goal.
America Reads at TAMUCC
On the TAMUCC campus, undergraduate students tutor first, second, and third graders from the Early Childhood Development Center who have been referred by their teachers for reading below grade level.
Children who have one-on-one reading experiences with adults tend to show a greater interest in reading. This program is designed to give each student four such experiences a week. Children look forward to meeting with their tutors, where they enjoy individualized reading activities based on their interests and reading ability.
Program format
The tutoring sessions are planned with the individual student's interest and reading abilities in mind. The format for the 30-minute sessions includes practice in reading, writing, and comprehension skills; half of that time is oral reading by the child. In the last few minutes, the tutor reads to the student, modeling fluent reading. Once the student is engaged in interesting, meaningful reading events with an adult, the improvement can be dramatic. What has been missed in the group setting can be picked up in the one-on one tutoring session. The tutor can provide immediate feedback, support, or change the entire lesson to better suit the child's abilities.
Our tutors
The tutors are university students who are committed to higher education. They are role models–a regular reminder to children that a college education can be in their future. Several of the tutors are future teachers; others are business majors, biologists, and computer science majors. They have two things in common: they are avid readers who hope to pass their love of reading on to their students, and they all have made a commitment to helping children become successful lifetime readers.
Tutors complete an initial five--hour training workshop before they begin working with the children. New tutors are required to observe experienced tutors in sessions with children for an additional week. All of the tutors continue to meet weekly for peer collaboration and additional training on reading strategies and student behavior issues.
Contact
Kim Skinner
ECDC 219K
361-825-3298
kim.skinner@tamucc.edu
