Episode Details

Jennifer Ballard:
I've taught for 12 or 13 years now and this has been the biggest breakthrough with kids' reading.

Student:
I like at the end when they feel so like accomplished of finishing a book or something.

Jennifer Ballard:
The kids all take care of each other better. They look out for each other.

Student:
And I love to see how much they improve throughout the year.

Student:
Sometimes when they're like with a friend, they like point at you and say, "Oh my gosh I know him!"

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. Something really cool is happening in classrooms at Oak Leaf Elementary School these days. Older students are stepping up and leading by example, proving to everyone that life is better with books. On this episode of the Supercast, meet some sixth graders who are taking their love for literacy to the kindergarten classroom. They are reading with younger students as part of the Planet Kindergarten literacy program.

Anthony Godfrey:
We're here at Oak Leaf Elementary School talking with Jennifer Ballard, one of the kindergarten teachers. Talk to us a little bit about this program of having sixth graders read with kindergartners.

Jennifer Ballard:
So this year we started doing Planet Kindergarten that was a pretty cool idea and concept from the Jordan School District literacy department, specifically the kindergarten specialists. And at first we were a little bit nervous because it's a big undertaking, but the program that they've set out is incredible. And we have so many of our students, almost a hundred percent, that have mastered all their letters and sounds, and they did that by November 1st.

Anthony Godfrey:
And all their letters and sounds by November 1st is really a benchmark where we say if you can get there before November, then it really sets you on a good path for the rest of the year.

Jennifer Ballard:
Absolutely. We are learning how to read and write CVC words, blends, and digraphs and we can't do any of that without knowing our letters and sounds.

Anthony Godfrey:
Describe what it looks like when sixth graders are helping kindergartners reach this goal because Planet Kindergarten is something that's happening in elementary schools throughout Jordan School District, but this is the first I've heard of sixth graders being involved in helping kindergartners reach that goal. So tell me what that looks like.

Jennifer Ballard:
So we have a couple time slots through the day that we have students coming down to read with our kindergartners and it is almost all sixth graders, but we do actually have students as young as third grade coming to help our kids read. And so the student council has really taken on the biggest piece of it and they come every day before lunch. At the beginning it was just practicing letters, and kids would go out in the hall with letter flashcards, they would learn letters and their sounds, and as they passed those off, they advanced into reading whole words and then reading in decodable text, which is amazing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me, so do the sixth graders feel the sense of accomplishment as well? I assume that they do, and the student they're working with has a breakthrough.

Jennifer Ballard:
They do. It's really cute because they'll come in