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: BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog

A man's best friend is a student's new reading partner

Yes, you read that right; BoardBuzz came across a story on washingtonpost.com that elementary and middle school students' new favorite reading partners are loveable canines. Organizations, like Canine Assistants, are helping students gain confidence and strengthen their reading skills by providing service dogs to classrooms. Sixth-grade students at the John T. Baker Middle School in Maryland spend about 45 minutes in a traditional reading lesson and then another 45 minutes reading aloud to a black Labrador named Amelia. As the children read aloud, Amelia is trained to sit obediently and enjoy. Scientific research to determine the effectiveness of reading with Amelia hasn't yet been conducted, but teacher Ann Pluchino's said, "That every student has moved up a reading level since last fall and they are now reading faster and with more fluency." Administrators have called the program a success and check out what one student had to say:

"It is awesome," said Juan Pablo, a sixth-grader. "She doesn't care if you accidentally read a word wrong. Sometimes you read a word wrong and [people] just start laughing at you. She doesn't laugh at you. She stares at you, waiting for you to start reading again."

That pretty much sums it up for BoardBuzz... we love to see students excited about learning AND getting over their fears to read aloud. It seems this sixth-grade class is on to something, with special thanks to Amelia, of course!

Full post as published by BoardBuzz: NSBA's Daily Weblog on June 11, 2008 (boomark / email).