Welcome Mentors!
Recruiting Mentors
Example of folder Leah uses to train the Mentors:
When I conduct training these are the materials I include in each trainees folder. It is everything they would need if they were to follow a student for all 4 days. I also made a flow sheet that is included in each folder for the students who do not have the same mentor for 4 days in a row. Also, not scanned in this packet is an actual book and also a wordless book.
leahs-training-folders-contents
This was a follow the directions activity Mentors did with the students closer to Thanksgiving.
I also made the placemat per the directions but did not show the students the placemat until after they were done and it was interesting to see their reactions when they compared theirs to mine.
following-directions-activity-thanksgiving
The school’s volunteer hours will be tracked with 250 hours as the first goal.
This is my stickers reward chart. I use this not only for when students read each page with 3 or fewer errors, but when I have to work with 2-3 students at once I use it when they answer comprehension questions correctly. I also will play word hunt games with the students after the book is read and have the students look for a specific word, find a specific vowel team, or find rhyming words within the story. The sticker chart is a huge MOTIVATOR for my readers!
Leah has shared wonderful stories about two of the Mentors she is very proud to work with in Tiffin:
We have some of the best mentors in the world! I had a mother of one of our preschoolers apply to be a mentor. I will never turn away a mentor that will be helping our students in a positive manner. This specific mentor has some learning difficulties, and at first I was a bit challenged to find something for her to help with, but after talking to my principal we found the perfect mentoring for her. She helps our kindergartners with sight word flash cards. She is amazing at the job, because she keeps the kids on task, always encourages them and at the end of her mentoring time she always says, I’ll be back.
We have another mentor who mentors three days a week for 2.5 hours a day. This gentleman is in a wheelchair and I had a couple of students that didn’t want to work with him because of that. I talked with the students and reminded them that he was there to help them become better readers ,and that I expect them to be respectful of him. One girl specifically was against working with him because he was “weird”, however, he showed up for all of their mentoring sessions and eventually she preferred working with him and no one else.
I also have two rules that I share with all of my mentor reading students.
Rules:
1. You must be respectful.
2. You must have fun.
These seem to be easy rules to follow.
Thanks for the great visit today. Have a great evening!
Leah, Tiffin City Schools, Reading Program Coordinator
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Tiffin City Schools: Thank you Leah for sharing these wonderful ideas to bring “real life” into the reading process. The students will remember these lessons in Read to Succeed with T.E.D.D.I. time (T.E.D.D.I. =Together Everyone Does Daily Improvements) .
1. The book We Make Maple Syrup, Level I, talks about the maple syrup making process. My husband’s family makes maple syrup annually and somewhere along the way my husband, or one of his brothers, did a science fair project on the process. I have a model syrup evaporator and all the pieces necessary for the syrup process.
I know my students in grades 2 & 3 are already past Level I, however, I plan to revisit the book and bring all those supplies in for a text to real life connection. I also will bring real maple syrup and store bought syrup to do a prediction for a compare & contrast on texture, taste, and color.
2. The All About Chocolate book, Level O: once the book is complete, I am bringing in different types of chocolate (milk chocolate, semi- sweet chocolate, baking cocoa, colored chocolate & some flavored chocolates) to again make predictions and do a compare & contrast about each one.
3. The Beekeeper, Level O: my brother-in-law is a beekeeper and has all the equipment it talks about in the book. I will bring it in for the students to make a text to real life connection and allow them to try on the beekeeper suit. I will also bring in real honey for a tasting.
4. Salt Rocks, Level O: after completion of this book I will give out an article I found on Rock Candy. I will have the students make some solution for Rock Candy and allow it to grow over the weekend. I feel we can incorporate a venn diagram on these two items. I have a salt mill at home, and I will bring in some salt crystals for observation and tasting, if they are brave enough.
5. These are just a few pictures of story boards some of our students made today. The boards go along with Our Camping Trip, Level F. A bit of prep had to go into this fun activity, but it was a neat spin on story retelling and recollection. The kids had so much fun making them. On the back of each story board is a text copy of the story so the kid can use it as reference if they happen to forget the story when sharing later. It was interesting to hear stories from the kids that have gone camping and also stories about what they would take with them if they got to go camping.
