The King Open preschoolers were treated to special guest readers from Ms. Barros’ Ola 1-2 class. Librarian Judy Siemen came up with the idea for this reading adventure. “I always try to connect kids with other children in the building where they can share their reading and what they know.” She added, “I wanted to do a connected read aloud with Dr. Seuss books and the preschool; this was a perfect opportunity to share these books with younger students who may not know all these titles.”
To prepare for the visit, the King Open Ola 1-2 class chose their favorite Dr. Seuss books they wanted to share and practiced their read aloud skills. They took this practice very seriously. According to Judy Siemen, “Students practiced for two weeks by reading to the group and giving each other feedback. We heard some great oral reading from each other and modeled reading aloud skills for each other.” Their practice and preparation paid off! On the day of the event, Ola students and preschoolers were paired up so that every Ola
student had the opportunity to read their chosen Dr. Seuss book aloud. Preschoolers were totally engaged in the stories being read to them and everyone had fun! Serafina said, “I felt pretty happy because the person I was reading to paid attention and was really nice.” Although some of the preschoolers were shy at first, the books connected the new friends. Iris said her partner “kept counting the apples in the book.” The visit ended with a sing-along. When Ola students were asked how reading aloud to the preschoolers made them feel, Mia summed it up by stating, “confident!”