I’m always looking for ways to encourage kids to read more and learn to love reading. One activity I tried is called Book Buddies. Students pick a “book buddy” with whom they will spend a few minutes a day discussing their book. They don’t even have to be reading the same book to be buddies. If they are reading different books, they will give a brief overview of what has happened so far.
At the beginning of each Book Buddies reading session, students meet for 5 minutes to discuss what they read the night before. Then they split up and read on their own for 30 minutes or so.
At the end of the session they meet again briefly to discuss what they read during class. They complete a Book Buddy Bookmark Slip (below) and set a goal for the number of pages they plan to read that evening.
They continue with these daily meetings, completing a graphic organizer or other reading response assignment as they finish each book. I developed a self-evaluation form that can be used at the end of each week to arrive at a grade. So far the program is working well, and my students really seem to be reading more and completing more books. They are eager to meet with their book buddies to tell them what they have been reading each day.
