Students in Ellie Cassidy’s third-grade class at EJR are rewarded with “class cash” for following the classroom and school expectations. Fridays are shopping days where they can trade in their cash for prizes.  One prize is the opportunity to read to another class. The kids love reading to their former teacher’s class or to their younger sibling’s class.  Here, Taliyah reads to Michelle Marucci’s kindergarten class. It was just three years ago that Taliyah was one of Mrs. Marucci’s students!

Educationally, everyone benefits from this. For the kindergarten children, being read to helps their vocabulary skills and their cognitive abilities. For the reader, it improves their information processing skills, vocabulary, comprehension and social skills. Plus it’s so much fun!