Reading improves as 'buddies' team up at Taylor Parks

In an effort to improve literacy, first- and fifth-grade classes at Taylor Parks Elementary School teamed up throughout the year to read.

Pupils in Mrs. Thompson's and Mrs. KC's first-grade classes partnered with pupils in Mrs. Zirkle's fifth-grade. The children read together on a regular basis, aiming at a strategy to increase student literacy.

And it wasn't only the young students who were learning. The fifth-graders focused on improving fluency as they read books to the first-graders. Meanwhile, the younger ones worked on decoding and using various reading strategies with positive reinforcement from their "reading buddy."

Last week, reading buddies celebrated their end-of-the-year successes by meeting up for an outdoor reading visit in the park.

The weather was beautiful, and the reading was fun.