9 Ways to Make Your Reading Buddies Program More Effective

Reading Buddies is a popular program in elementary schools that promotes literacy. Many students have greatly benefited from buddy reading over the years. If you're considering implementing this at your school, you'll want to check out these must read tips to ensure a highly effective program for all of your students!

This is Part 2 of my Reading Buddies series. Don't miss Part 1 where I explained the program and the benefits of it!

TIPS FOR IMPLEMENTING READING BUDDIES

Assign Buddies

If your entire school is on board, it is recommended to pair up a lower grade with an older grade with specific teachers being assigned to each other. Ideal pairings would be: Kindergarten with 3rd, 1st with 4th, and 2nd with 5th. These pairings should remain in place for the entire year, which allows students to build solid relationships. If your entire school isn't on board, you can still pair up teachers that will remain consistent all year.

After the classes are assigned to each other, it's time to pair up students. Students should have the same buddy all year. Obviously, things happen with students being sick, moving in/out, etc., but remaining as consistent as possible helps with the success of the buddies.

Things to consider when pairing up students
The two teachers should briefly meet to discuss students' personalities and ability levels to create ideal pairs. If you have a 2nd grader who is reading significantly above grade level, you obviously wouldn't want to pair him/her with a 5th grader reading below grade level. This defeats the purpose of the program for both students. Personalities should also be considered for effective pairs. Two students who lack focus would not be an ideal match. You may also want to administer interest surveys and pair students by their shared interests. This immediately creates a natural connection with students that helps build a better relationship between them. (Find out more about administering reading interest surveys).

Teacher form to document buddy reading pairs.

Schedule a Set Time

In order to make reading buddies a priority it helps to schedule a consistent time each week to meet. Teachers have busy schedules but if you know that on a certain day of the week you have reading buddies for 15-30 minutes, you're more likely to stick to it. You'll soon find that students look forward to those days!

Find a Place to Meet

Decide on a quiet place to meet with plenty of space for students to spread out. This could be a classroom, empty hallway, library, or even outside. 

Start with an Icebreaker

When students first meet their buddies you may want to plan some fun activities for students to get to know each other. You can use the same type of getting to know you activities you plan at the beginning of the year to build a sense of community. (Click to download a freebie of suggested Ice Breaker activities!) Buddies can also fill out an interest survey together so they can immediately discover their shared interests. This naturally gives them something to talk about and allows them to begin to form a connection.

Administering reading interest surveys can help teachers
more effectively assign students to reading buddies.

Establish and Model Expectations

Teachers should set expectations for students. How should the reading look? What should students achieve during this time? You may want to consider creating the desired structure for how you want the time to be spent. (Do students take turns reading each time or alternate by weeks? Who reads first?). Most importantly, these expectations need to be modeled for students. 

Provide Scaffolds for Success

Along with modeling expected behaviors, you will want to provide prompts to help reading buddies be effective. These scaffolds may include visual reminders to remind students of the expectations during that time together. It is also beneficial to provide prompts for older students to support younger students when they get stuck.

Buddy Reading bookmarks scaffold students for success!

Allow Time for Discussion

The reading buddies program allows students to improve their comprehension as well as their fluency and accuracy. You can orally provide a comprehension prompt for all partnerships to discuss after reading. Students can also have discussion bookmarks with prompts depending on the desired skill you want them to focus on during that time. This could be retelling what they read, making connections, or reflecting on their reading fluency. For teachers who want even more accountability during this time, you may want to assign a shared reading response sheet for partners to complete. This might not be needed in most cases, but some classes might require the additional structure for success.

Reading response sheets that buddies can complete
together to increase student accountability.

Reflect on Reading

Lead students in a discussion after reading buddies to reflect on what went well and what they can improve upon next time. Upper-grade teachers will want to provide time to help students problem solve and practice strategies to better support their reading buddies. 

Plan Events to Build Relationships

The reading buddies program isn't just about reading. Teachers can plan other activities where older students help students with math tasks. Buddies can complete projects together such as holiday crafts and/or Stem challenges. It's also important to plan a fun event at the end of the year to celebrate a year of growth together! This can be as simple as a popsicle party!

Click to view the resources I use for buddy reading 
with my students - including the tools shown above!

Hopefully, this has inspired you to start or enhance your reading buddies program. If you've already implemented reading buddies, what other tips were most beneficial for you? Pin the following image and share your tips in the pin's comments!

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10 Reasons Why You Should Start a Reading Buddies Program NOW!

Reading Buddies is a popular program that many schools implement with tremendous success. What exactly is this program and why should teachers use it with their students? Find out in this 2 Part Series on Reading Buddies! 

WHAT ARE READING BUDDIES?

The reading buddies program pairs up an older student with a younger student for them to take turns reading to one another. It allows for authentic reading practice and a model of fluent reading among many other benefits! Students may also engage in buddy reading with same-aged peers, but in this post the phrase "reading buddies" is referring to students of different ages. 

BENEFITS FOR LITTLE BUDDIES

Younger buddies can gain a lot from the program but it may require some training with older students to be extremely successful. (Be sure to read part 2 of the series for tips on that!). Younger buddies benefit from reading buddies because they can:

Listen to a Fluent Model

Younger students grow as readers when they hear more experienced readers model fluent reading. The older students can demonstrate how fluent readers read with appropriate phrasing and intonation. Emergent readers also benefit from hearing their buddies read with accuracy and automaticity rather than needing to constantly sound out difficult words.

Observe a Peer Mentor

The benefits of buddy reading go beyond academics. Younger students can observe their buddy demonstrating positive behavior and valuable social skills. They see their buddy following the rules and remaining focused on the task. They also benefit from their buddy displaying positive character traits such as kindness and patience with them. 

Receive One-on-One Support

During buddy reading the younger students essentially have their own personal tutor helping them with their reading. The older students provide immediate feedback and offer strategies to help emergent readers decode unknown words. It also builds awareness and increases self-monitoring of comprehension as the older buddy can support the student when the reading no longer makes sense.

Big buddies can use a tool like this to better
support younger buddies with their reading.

BENEFITS FOR BIG BUDDIES

Even though older buddies provide many supports to the younger students, they also gain a lot from the experience. Older buddies benefit from reading buddies because they can:

Build Confidence

Struggling readers and shy students in the upper grades may not feel comfortable reading aloud with their same-aged peers. Reading to a younger student provides them with a chance to feel confident as a reader in a less intimidating environment. It naturally builds confidence when they know someone is looking up to them both academically and socially. The little buddies view their reading buddies as their role models and are in awe of them!

Act as a Mentor

In the same way reading buddies benefits older students who struggle with reading, it also helps students who have difficulty with self-control. They are forced to model positive character traits and set the example for responsible behavior during the designated time. The program naturally rewards them for good behavior by having someone look up to them rather than focusing on any negative behavior.

Practice Leadership Skills

Reading buddies provide older students with an opportunity to practice lifelong skills in authentic ways. They learn leadership, patience, and problem-solving strategies while working with their younger buddies.

Big buddies can reflect on their weekly buddy reading experiences
and problem solve way to better support their little buddies.

BENEFITS FOR BOTH BUDDIES

Even though the students have different roles in the partnership, both buddies gain value from the experience. Big and little buddies benefit from buddy reading because they can:

Practice Authentic Reading

The best way to get better at something is to practice, practice, practice. The same holds true for reading. All students benefit from the opportunity to practice reading to a live audience in an authentic manner.

Practice Reading Fluently

Since students are reading to another person, it naturally motivates them to practice reading fluently. It is the perfect opportunity to practice phrased and expressive reading. 

Engage in Meaningful Discussions about the Text

All students need time to discuss the texts they read to deepen comprehension. Talking about texts can also build excitement about reading. 

Build a Sense of Community

Typically students only interact with their same-aged peers, but reading buddies provide opportunities to make the school feel more connected. Reading buddies are always excited when they pass by in the hallways or see each other at school-wide events. Teachers can plan fun events for reading buddies such as popsicle parties, holiday crafts, or stem challenges. Every year our younger buddies write their older buddies notes of encouragement during state standardized testing. All of these moments help establish a strong sense of community within our school.

Click to view the resources I use for buddy reading
with my students - including the tools shown above!

Now that you know the many benefits of reading buddies and are hopefully feeling motivated to start implementing them, you may have a lot of questions about HOW to begin. Be sure to check out Part 2 of the Reading Buddies Series to learn my best tips for implementing this program with your students!

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