Passing along a love of reading

Darleene Barrientos

NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- Second-grade hands poked, picked and grabbed

Friday -- not for food, crayons or toys, but for books.

Verdugo Woodlands Elementary School’s “Buddy Reading” program

pairs second- and sixth-grade students together for the school year

to help younger children learn how to read, and to help older

children learn the value of helping.

The program is voluntary and requires participating sixth-grade

students to give up their lunches each Friday to read to their

second- grade partners.

Karla Hagedohm, 11, said she was in the program last year.

“I decided to be in the program to help kids, because reading is

big in education, as it is in life,” Karla said.

One of Karla’s partners was 7-year-old Sarah Markarian.

“I like her because she reads well and lets us take turns

reading,” Sarah said. “She’s a very good reader.”

Students chose between fairy tale, picture, biography, nonfiction,

easy reader, rhyming and alphabet books. Two authors, Cynthia Rylant

and Margaret Wise Brown, were also included in the book choices.

The program is satisfying for Mike Lichtman’s sixth-grade

students, partly because they find it enjoyable to give as well as

receive, and partly because he and second-grade teacher Liz Hannah

try to mix in fun activities.

“Every so often, we will do something special, like do a camp

out,” Lichtman said. “We’ll shut off the lights, the kids will bring

sleeping bags and we’ll read by flashlight.”

For some of the students, the reading time is quality time for

those who are friends outside of school, like 7-year-old Shadi

Mehrabiani and 11-year-old Katrina Yentch.

“We’re neighbors, and we don’t spend a lot of time together, so we

get to spend time together here,” Katrina said.