Buddy Reading

I really like the idea of buddy reading. Whether or not scaffolding is being used, buddy reading helps kids with reading a lot.  Sometimes it makes the book more enjoyable, whereas sometimes it makes it easier to understand the book if you can read it with a friend.  Students can discuss confusing parts of the story, express your thoughts on the plot, and help each other with vocabulary.  As adults, many people take part in book clubs. This is very similar to this idea.  If a child sees his or her parent in a book club, then doing something like this in school can be very engaging and motivating because the student sees it can be for fun and not just for work.  Many high school and college level classes use a form of "buddy reading."  I would like to use this in the classroom so that my students can have pleasurable experiences as well as to scaffold enriching reading material that otherwise may not have been decipherable.  I have used this in lab experiences when teaching a small group of advanced readers. They really like doing this, even when it comes to reading aloud which often times can feel overwhelming and scary when in front of a larger audience.  Buddy reading facilitates cooperative learning.  Doing many activities and projects that involve cooperative learning at an early age helps foster positive communication and teamwork that will be used throughout life.  Even in adulthood, people have to work together often (for example: designing a proposal, writing a grant, or marketing a new product).  I encourage others to incorporate a lot of buddy reading, even it is just to allow buddy reading during free reading so that children learn to work and learn together.  You would be surprised to see the accomplishments children can make when they just work together!