Reading Buddies... And More!

     Ready Buddies are a tradition of the Union Academy Lower Campus that succeeds in building student relationships between grade levels, and in building confidence and excitement in students.   The idea began with having older students (grades Third and Fourth) pair with younger students (grade Kindergarten and First) for monthly reading time.  As it was originally intended, these reading times help both older and younger students gain confidence in their reading skills.  However, over the years, UA has discovered that there is much more to gain from the time shared together.
     Since its inception, the Reading Buddy time has morphed to also include students sharing with each other the things they are learning in their classroom.  For instance, Fourth grade students complete four projects throughout the school year centered around the history and geography of North Carolina.  Mrs. Hinson, a fourth grade teacher, asks her students to share their projects with their first grade reading buddies.  This experience gives her fourth grade students a chance to practice presenting to a small group and causes them to take more pride in all of their hard work.  According to Mrs. Anthony, first grade teacher, it also helps her younger students.  "You can see their interest perk up as they watch the older students share their projects.  This time together helps our younger students get excited about what they will experience as older students at UA."
     Over the course of a school year, these students have built relationships with each other.  They consider each other friends, or as one first grade student wrote to his buddy, "You are a hero."  Many Reading Buddies go out of their way to say hello to each other on the sidewalk or to send each other character mail.  Just this week, younger students thought about how they could help their 3rd and 4th grade friends get excited about the upcoming End of Grade tests.  Some classes took the time to write notes of testing encouragement to their older buddies. Principle 4 of the 11 Principles of Character Education focuses on how a school creates a caring community.  Lower Campus Reading Buddies are an excellent example of how Union Academy builds relationships between students of different grade levels, strengthening the "UA Family."