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 to younger kids as part of the Planet Kindergarten literacy program.
Audio Transcription
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 afterwards and I won't ask them for feedback on how the kids did, but I have several sixth graders come back to me and say, “Oh my gosh, they're getting so good at this” and they're so proud of them and really all the grades that come to help with them just feel really excited. I've even had several come back and tell me that that's their favorite part of the day is coming to read with our kindergarten students.
Anthony Godfrey:
So third through sixth graders coming to read with the kindergartners, how does that change the motivation for kindergartners? How long have you been teaching and what difference have you seen from years where you haven't had those older students helping?
Jennifer Ballard:
I feel like this year was monumental with that. I've never seen collective efficacy on such a grand scale before where we all had this goal, and it wasn't just teachers having a goal for kids, but the kids had the goal themselves, and now other kids have that goal for them. So we would announce that on Morning News. We talked about it a lot, and everybody just got excited about it. I've taught for 12 or 13 years. I've lost track but 12 or 13 years now and this has been the biggest breakthrough with kids reading.
Anthony Godfrey:
I assume that this is something that will continue for a long time now that you've seen the results.
Jennifer Ballard:
Yes, it absolutely will continue, and we're planning to keep it going all through the rest of this year, not just ending at letters and sounds but with reading books.
Anthony Godfrey:
What has the social impact been on just the culture of the school, with having older students involved with the younger students, because there's a lot of separation in elementary school? You don't always run into each other. You have separate playgrounds, separate lunchtimes. What has it done for unifying the school?
Jennifer Ballard:
I feel like the kids all take care of each other better. They look out for each other. I have little ones on the way to rotations, but the big kids will come and give them high fives and hugs, and they know their names. That's really cute, and when we take them out to the bus area, we get a little nervous to leave our kindergartners, but these big kids they just love them, and they've got them, and they take really good care of them.
Anthony Godfrey:
So there's a sense of belonging in both directions. The younger students have third through sixth graders to look up to and connect with, and the sixth and third graders, sixth through third graders feel this sense of responsibility to the younger students, it sounds like. I think this is tremendous. I think it's amazing.
Jennifer Ballard:
Yeah, it's been a really awesome thing at our school, and I feel like our school has always been really well connected, but this has connected us even more, and it's really cool to see the oldest kids looking out for the youngest ones and wanting them to be successful.
Anthony Godfrey:
Where did the idea come from? Where did this start?
Jennifer Ballard:
We were trying to decide in PLCs how to go about this goal because it did seem like a lofty goal and we knew we could attain it but we needed the right resources. So I believe it was our assistant principal Toni Lasater who had the idea and then we all talked about all the admin, our coach, the whole kindergarten team and it really just kind of steamrolled from, “well maybe it could be the student council that comes to read with them,” and then it evolved into, “well I bet even other grades would want to come read,” and soon enough teachers were telling us their kids were really working hard to come read with kindergarten.
Anthony Godfrey:
Did they need to earn that by working in their own class and making sure they're caught up before they could step away to help kindergartners?
Jennifer Ballard:
Yes, some teachers did use it as incentive. If they did a good job in class and got all their work done and if they were respectful and kind, then they got to come read with the kids.
Anthony Godfrey:
What a cool idea. Well, congratulations on a great program and a huge impact and I'm excited to see where this goes.
Jennifer Ballard:
We're really grateful for all the support from our whole staff because it does take time from upper grades. I know they have a lot of academics they need to cover, but we, as kindergarten teachers, are especially grateful to everyone who has helped out other teachers, aides, parents. It's been all-encompassing at our school.
Anthony Godfrey:
And everyone will benefit as those kindergartners who have the help of older students come up through the grades.
Jennifer Ballard:
Yes absolutely.
Anthony Godfrey:
It's going to have a cumulative ongoing effect, so thank you.
Anthony Godfrey:
Stay with us. When we come back a conversation with the sixth-grade students who really are book ambassadors.
Male Voice:
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Anthony Godfrey:
We're talking now with the student council at Oak Leaf Elementary about their experience helping kindergartners reach their reading goals. Tell me your name and tell me what you loved most about reading with kindergartners.
Student:
My name is Sadie Mills and I like, because the kindergartners are always so happy and energetic.
Anthony Godfrey:
Have you lost that now in sixth grade?
Student:
It's really fun because they're just little.
Student:
I'm a Stacey Lucero and I love to see how much they improve throughout the year.
Student:
I'm Addie Bennett and I like to see all their happy faces and get to know each one of them better.
Student:
I'm Sadie Fichelos and I like at the end when they feel so like accomplished of finishing a book or something.
Student:
I'm Hayden Sandovich and I like it because we're preparing their future.
Student:
I'm Lydia Smith and I really like to like get excited for them when they finish their words or like letters.
Student:
I'm Stockton Robbins and I like when like it's like we get built-in friends kind of and we get to relate or we get to spend time with our kindergartners.
Student:
I'm Michael Sandoval and my favorite part is when they do a good job, you give them a high five, and they're just smiling. It's awesome.
Student:
My name is Cameron McBride and my favorite part is probably what I hear that their favorite part of the day is to come see us.
Student:
I'm Zae Vyric and I love to see their little cute faces.
Student:
I'm Ryker Bayless and I love seeing how independent they've become on reading.
Anthony Godfrey:
I heard that they now recognize you they see you in the hall and they kind of wave like, “oh I'm cool. I kind of know one of the older kids.” Tell me about that.
Student:
So the other day I was at the playground and a kindergartner came up to me and gave me the biggest hug and said, “thank you so much for helping me.”
Anthony Godfrey:
That's awesome. I love that.
Student:
I think it can be kind of the same thing but for us knowing the kindergartners. I've recognized a few of the kindergartners that I relate with so I just hope that they recognize me too.
Student:
I don't know I think it's just pretty cool to just walk down the hall and see him like come over and smile and like sometimes when they're like with a friend they like point at you and say, “oh my gosh, I know him.” It's so cool.
Anthony Godfrey:
You guys are celebrities.
Student:
Well I have a little kindergartner who's my neighbor and from this she now recognizes me and whenever I see her out and about she always comes up and hugs me.
Anthony Godfrey:
So now she says hello to you in the wild outside of the school. Now are all you guys in sixth grade?
Student:
Yes.
Anthony Godfrey:
They're gonna miss you next year big time. You'll have to come back and see the first graders how much they've grown up, right? And next year you're going to be seventh graders so you'll be basically the kindergartners of middle school so you'll hope that the ninth graders are saying hi to you. Tell me, did you know very many kindergartners before this before you participated in this program?
Student:
Not really. Well I really only like from last year, I knew my little sister and a few other kids because she was in kindergarten. So were her friends, but I've really not known a lot like kindergartners.
Student:
Um, I knew a couple because they're some of my friends’ little brothers and sisters.
Student:
I didn't really know any kindergartners and it was like kind of like scary going in you're like, “oh, I gotta like help the kindergartners,” and I didn't know how to help but it's like they know their words and like it's fun seeing them in the halls and be like, “oh I know them” and like yeah.
Anthony Godfrey:
So tell me what do you love most about either Oak Leaf or being in sixth grade?
Student:
So about Oak Leaf, at my old school we used to always have corn dogs for lunch. Like always, yeah, so this is a big improvement for lunch.
Anthony Godfrey:
And what's your favorite improvement at lunch? Orange chicken?
Student:
No, I like the macaroni they have.
Anthony Godfrey:
The macaroni okay. So do I.
Student:
It's very good.
Student:
Um I like to be in sixth grade because I feel like I get a lot of more opportunities and chances and I feel more like independent.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.
Student:
One thing about Oak Leaf was that at my old school um, I didn't know anyone. Like I didn't know any of the staff. I didn't know anybody in my class, but I now feel like we've been like engaging and I know everyone here.
Anthony Godfrey:
You're a part of things.
Student:
Um-hum.
Student:
I also feel the same as Addie like at my old school, I didn't really like know anyone. It felt like I was just trying to like make it through the day. But then now it feels like people are trying to like be inclusive of each other and the staff trying to like get to know you and people are trying to make the most of their day and like when you all do that, it kind of feels like you're like a family.
Student:
It's fun because you really get to know more of the teachers and staff and it just makes it like fun to come to school. The lunch choices are amazing and the teachers are great and just everything that it's awesome.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's fantastic! I love hearing that.
Student:
Um in Oak Leaf it's like super fun, especially since like I was mostly home-schooled, and so when I came back to school, it was honestly really refreshing because everyone's just super nice and really welcoming.
Student:
I love Oak Leaf because we're all so close together, and our PTA and staff go above and beyond for us. They will do whatever it takes for us to be happy.
Anthony Godfrey:
I can't see your principal right now, but I bet she's smiling back there.
Student:
I like Oak Leaf because in my old private school, we had to bring home lunches, and so big improvement to have a warm lunch.
Anthony Godfrey:
Okay.
Student:
One thing I really love about sixth grade is just being a part of student council. I love helping the younger grades, planning events like assemblies, family nights, and I love it.
Student:
I love Oak Leaf because everybody's a lot more loving. You get to know a lot more people here.
Student:
I don't know about the rest of my student council but how about Miss Hoffman and Miss Lasater? They're amazing they're always so welcoming, they always love to take in our ideas of student council and always just try to make us feel at home, which I know when I come here, I never want to go home.
Anthony Godfrey:
That's wonderful that's so exciting to hear how much you love your school and how much of a positive impact you're having here. What a wonderful job you're doing of making kindergartners feel connected and really making the whole school a place where people want to be. Thank you very much for taking time to talk with me today, and thanks for everything you're doing to help support kindergartners and the rest of the school. Have a great rest of the school year.
Students:
Thank you!
Anthony Godfrey:
Thanks for joining us on another episode of the Supercast. Remember, “Education is the most important thing you will do today!” We'll see you out there.