Teen Volunteers at Finkelstein Memorial Library: Reading Buddies

High school volunteers assist children in grades 1-2 with their reading. 

Meets Monday and Wednesdays; 4:00-6:00 pm.

Volunteers choose one or two days/week that they will volunteer and create their schedule on SignUp.com. 

Please sit at a table facing the door so that you can easily look up and greet children as they arrive.

After a child is checked in by the staff member, welcome them to Reading Buddies and introduce yourself. Ask them their name, get to know them a little and put them at ease.

For the first half of Reading Buddies, you’ll be playing literacy games. If the child has been here before, ask them if they have a favorite game they’d like to play. If not, choose a game. They may also play games with the other children, since many of the games are for up to 4 players. 

At 4:20pm (or 5:20pm), it’s time to switch to reading together. Pack up the game and place it back on the cart. Let the child go to the book table and choose a book. Books are arranged on the table from easiest to hardest. If a child chooses a book that is clearly too difficult for them, that’s okay! Choose a second book that is easier for them and bring both back to the table. When they are done reading the easier book to you, you can read the more difficult one to them. When reading together, you can also take turns reading every other page. It’s important to sit next to each other and not across the table from each other so that you can both see the book together. If they get to a difficult word, encourage them to sound it out. When you finish a book, ask the child questions about the setting and characters. Talk about what happened in the story and ask them if they enjoyed it and why or why not.

Wrap up the session by 4:45pm (or 5:45pm). After the child leaves with their grown up, use the QR code on the flier on the Reading Buddies cart to fill out an evaluation for your reader. Use any extra time to pack up games neatly and put the cart back in order.