Reading to Children: After

Although I planned to continue this activity further, I was not able to do so. The school’s schedule and my own never coincided – they could only allow me to go in the morning, but I myself have school at that time. This was quite disheartening for me, as I truly enjoyed reading to those children, but I wasn’t able to make it work out.

Still, I did manage to achieve the two learning outcomes I connected to this activity. I did “undertake new challenges”, as it was the first time I ever read to children. It was a completely new experience for me, and it was very enriching. I learned how to get the kids involved with the story, which was very fun to do and also a very useful skill to deal with children. I also achieved the learning outcome that requires me to “consider the ethical implication of my action”. I aknowledge how important reading is for the development of cognitive processes, especially in young children. I also realise that these children rarely have people read to them, which means it is unlikely for them to get hooked on reading. Therefore, my reading to them was possibly a rare and valuable happening in my life, and it hopefully inspired them to become independently interested in reading themselves. However, my intervention could have been more useful if I had been able to go to the school more times.

Hence, if I could repeat this activity all over again, I would certainly do it and, this time, I would like to visit the school many more times than just one.

Reading to Children: During #1

Our experience reading to these children was fantastic. They all seemed very interested in listening to the stories we read to them, and some were even capable of answering some comprehension questions we asked them on the spot. The teachers were also impressed by our good work, and invited us to come in and read to their students more often. My classmate and I will gladly do so. The only problem we can envison with these plans is how we will manage to coordinate our schedules, as the children have the same school hours as we do, and it would be hard to organise an after-school activity.

Still, it was an incredibly enriching experience, and I can’t wait to do it again!

Me (left) and my friend at the children’s school.

Reading to Children: Before

Learning Outcomes:

• Undertaken new challenges.
• Considered the ethical implications of their actions.

Goal: To read at least one storybook to the children, making them interested in reading.

This Friday, March 18th, a classmate and I will go to a public school in Bilbao and read in English to a group of fourth graders. I feel very excited about this activity, as I love books, and I think that this will be a wonderful chance to get young children into reading and storytelling. In addition to this, it will also be a good opportunity for them to practise their English skills, something that I am also excited to help them with. Still, I feel quite nervous about this activity, as I have never read to children their age before, making this a completely new experience for me.

I don’t really know what to expect from this activity. On one hand, it could turn out to be incredibly rewarding as long as the children get into the stories we tell them and have fun. On the other hand, it could be a nightmare if the children refuse to settle down and listen.

The biggest problem I can anticipate is that the children will not be interested by the stories we tell. This may cause us trouble, as we may not be able to control a bored class, being inexperienced in this sort of activity. However, I am hoping that the class’s teacher will help us out if this happens. Another problem that we could face is that the children’s English levels may not be advanced enough, preventing them from enjoying our stories. In this case, we may try explaining the vocabulary to the children before continuing with the book, or even trying to explain to them what is happening in Spanish so that they understand.

All in all, I am very excited about starting this unpredictable activity!