1. Defining Roles

The animator is to be a consultant and aid to the teacher. In order to increase the possibility of success, the project must belong to the teacher. Therefore, it is important that as many decisions as possible be made by him or her. The teacher needs to be reassured that:

• the animator is there to help build bridges between the teacher and the parents of her students, not to disrupt the relationship with them.

• the animator is conscious of the demands made on the teacher to do "just one more job."

2. Planning the Project

The teacher will be asking the students to read to their parents 10-15 minutes a night, 4 nights a week for the length of the project. The teacher will be asking the students' parents to hear their child's reading (or in the case of non readers, read to the child) and initial the reading sheet with their comments. The sheet is to be checked at least once a week. (Annex 2) Note that this is not HOMEWORK reading but reading for pleasure, to help the children become hooked on books.

There are a number of decisions that need to be made at this point.

How long will the project last? Some teachers have chosen to run the project for 4 weeks, two or three times a year. Others have chosen a 6-week period. Some are beginning to make it a part of their program all year long.

Do you want to measure the change in the children's reading level? Most teachers have chosen to use the Slosson Oral Reading Test at the beginning and end of the project. It is important to have a reliable person administer it and that the same person give it each time. Changes in the children's attitudes can be recorded by the teacher as soon as they are noticed.

What books will the children use and who will choose them. the teacher or the student? It is practical to have a library in the classroom which can be augmented by a longterm loan from the school library. If there are not a lot of books this is a good time to make an effort to increase the classroom library making sure it has a variety of reading levels. It will be well used. Most teachers have encouraged the children to choose their own books using the five finger method. They close a finger each time they come to a word they don't know. If all fingers are closed by the end of page one, the book is too hard and they should try another. Since this project is aimed at developing a love of reading, the child's interests should be put first.

How will the books be looked after, both in school and going to and from? The books need to be well organized and easily accessible. One Grade 3 teacher chose a book monitor to check the books in and out. Other teachers do it themselves or have a parent volunteer help with it. Most classes have found it useful to have their reading sheet in a cover with the child's name on it, then it is put in a special bag with the book to be used. Kindergarten children have loved the zip bag that has yellow on one edge and blue on the other. When the bag is closed properly the edge turns green! "Yellow and blue can be seen. Now watch them change to green," Other groups have used cloth bags made by parents but the most practical has been the simple zip lock bag.