Our high school, Martí Dot, in Barcelona, follows a reading programme whereby all the students do silent reading in their classes from 13.05 to 13.35. The students freely choose the books they want to read as the main objective of the programme is that they create reading habits and develop their own literary preferences. Nevertheless, some young students (who are 12 years old) have difficulties to read alone. Thus they feel demotivated and they do not follow the teacher’s indications.
By pairing older students (who are 16-17 years old) with these students who have difficulties in reading twice a week in an area where they can also read aloud and do related activities the school expects some bounds to be created and an increased motivation in reading.
Skills targeted:
Older students:
-to help other younger students who need help to develop reading skills
-to become a model for them by reading aloud and eliciting vocabulary they cannot understand
-to tell them interesting stories so that they develop the parts of a narrative text
-to monitor their progress
-to promote inclusive and cooperative learning at the school
-to detect any other problems the students may experience (bullying, etc.)
Younger students:
-to collaborate with older students
-to be more motivated to read
-to create a bound with other community members
-to increase their reading and communication abilities
-to improve their self-esteem by feeling helped and improving their reading skills
Results and outcomes:
Older students have tracked the progress of younger students in their reading habits and competences. Both older and younger students have considered it a useful activity.
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