Launching Cross-Age Tutoring Overview Elementary/Secondary Matching Meeting

Roles and Responsibilities TitleResponsibilities Teachers Teach curriculum; plan with partner teacher; pair students, 12–14 visits Building Coaches and CAT Coordinators Coordinate visits to elementary schools; assist with parent communication and permission Quadrant Specialists Support building coaches and CAT coordinators Principals Supervise CAT activities; identify alternative programming Area Superintendents Approve pairings; support CAT in the quadrants

Session Objectives To explore: The rationale for using cross-age tutoring with students How the pacing of cross-age tutoring looks throughout the year Logistical issues and begin the matching/problem-solving process

Task Sheet 1: Understanding the CAT Unit Goal: To gain a deeper understanding of the Cross-Age Tutoring Unit. Task: As you read the middle or high school Introduction to Cross-Age Tutoring and the Table of Contents, take notes so you can answer these questions: What benefits are illustrated about the Cross-Age Tutoring Unit? How might this approach support older students who are struggling readers? Younger students?

Task 1 (continued) Talk at your table about each person’s ideas and combine them on a chart to share with the whole group.

Cross-Age Tutoring Summary Points Cross-age tutoring is an instructional approach, not just an activity. It provides time and opportunity for teacher observation of student reading and interaction. Teacher observations during Buddy Reading can be used to determine teaching points. It provides students with opportunities to practice, discuss, reflect, and problem-solve new learning. Students have successful reading experiences that enhance their view of themselves as readers. Teachers and students see their efforts pay off. It provides a way to build upon students’ knowledge, experiences, interests, and special skills.

Launching Cross-Age Tutoring An Overview of Curriculum

Unit 1:Launching Cross-Age Tutoring Summary Points Three parts Scouting visit First tutoring visit Second tutoring visit Twenty-seven sessions Reading focus Students teaching students

Cross-Age Tutoring Logistics High school (tenth grade) students paired with intermediate (third or fourth grade). Middle school (seventh or eighth grade) students paired with primary (first or second grade). Pairings last entire school year. Visits occur during Studio Course time, when possible. Middle and high school students walk to assigned elementary school.

Logistics (continued) Visits to the elementary schools will be 30 minutes long. Visits commence in mid-September. Visits continue throughout the school year, every three weeks. Approximately 12–14 visits overall.

Issues to Consider Different elementary and secondary start times Time needed to walk to and from elementary school Ratio of secondary to elementary students in each class Students with severe special needs, such as ED, physically handicapped, etc. Schools without elementary coaches to support the planning process between schools Parent permission process Language needs of elementary students… picture books in Spanish? Late, ill, or unprepared students… What to do with students left behind?

Task 2: Matching Activity and Problem- Solving Cross-Age Tutoring Logistics Goal: To explore logistical issues around cross-age tutoring and begin the problem-solving process. Task: Meet with CAT partnering school(s). Using the Pairing Guide Chart you brought and the Matching Tool provided, begin making initial teacher matches, identify issues, and discuss possible solutions.

Why Cross-Age Tutoring? “The aspect that I believe has the most promise for students’ future even if they do not complete their education, is their reading to elementary children. Although many students are initially fearful or resistant, everyone of them—from the school ‘tough’ to the painfully withdrawn student reading on a second-grade level—has come to enjoy, to be effective at, and to realize the importance of reading to young children. If this program did nothing more than give them the skills to read to their own children, and a realization of how necessary that activity is, maybe the cycle of functional illiteracy in these students’ families would be broken.” Cynthia Fischer, “An Effective (and Affordable) Intervention Model for At-Risk High School Readers,” What Adolescents Deserve: A Commitment to Students’ Literacy Learning