Read with a Buddy

We've been doing our Daily 5 everyday and it's come time to add our second component called, "Read with a Buddy". Reading with a buddy has it's own set of rules. Partners should be able to sit side by side and pretty close together so that as each person takes turns reading, they don't have to speak loudly to be heard. We have an acronym for it: EEKK. Elbow to elbow; knee to knee. Another rule is that when someone asks you to read with them, the answer is always "Yes." If I decide to choose partners (which I do upon occasion), they must smile and be kind. That means no groaning or sniggering if boy/girl pairs are called out. (When I assign partners, I pull two name sticks at a time. It's the luck of the draw.) Students should take turns reading a page or paragraph to each other. They are also supposed to be checking for understanding but although I've mentioned it, I'm not enforcing that bit just yet, as all the other parts are still somewhat troublesome. ;) It's coming along well and it seems that this group enjoys reading with a buddy far more than my class last year who just preferred to read alone. At any rate, here's some photos to show you what Reading with a Buddy looks like:

They're doing a very good job of follwoing the rules, aren't they!