Tyler Martin wants the kindergarten students at Elkhorn Elementary School to love reading as he does.
Tyler, an EES second-grader, is determined to help the young students. He's been given permission to serve as guest reader in the kindergarten classes every Friday.
With the help of Helen Taulbee, an instructional assistant in the school's literacy program who's been working with Tyler on his own reading skills since December, he has been leading kindergarten reading lessons for the past three weeks.
Taulbee and Tyler meet one-on-one for 45 minutes five times a week and spend 15 to 20 minutes each in three different kindergarten classrooms every Friday.
Taulbee said Tyler selects the story each week based on stories he has read and enjoyed. He also develops his own questions to ask the students to gauge their comprehension of the books.
"(I do it) just to help them learn how to read better," Tyler said.
The kindergarten students gather intently around Tyler as he reads.
He has a special bag filled with books and pulls each one out to show the kindergarteners, who gather around to see his literary bounty.
"I'm going to take these books home and read them," he tells the students. "You can read anywhere, even on vacation. You can read every day."
Michelle Little, a kindergarten teacher at EES, says her class welcomes Tyler each week.
"They're real excited," she said. "Tyler's a good role model for them."
Little said because Tyler is close in age to the students, they relate to him and pay close attention when he leads a lesson.
During Friday's session, Tyler read "Danny and Abby are Friends" by Mia Coulten and talked to the students about friendship. He offers encouragement when students answer questions and gives them extra help when they are having trouble answering.
Tyler said he asks himself questions after he reads a book and keeps a reading log to chart his progress. He then reviews with Taulbee before taking a test on the book.
Taulbee said she is pleased with the passion Tyler has for reading and how he's conveying that to younger students.
"It just thrills me his enthusiasm and the way he interacts with children," she said. "I'm just very proud of him because he puts in extra time."
Carmen Armato, Reading Recovery/Title I teacher said EES' entire literacy staff is working to better reach the reading needs of students, whether that be in small groups or one-on-one help.
"We've tried to focus more strategically for students who need extra time and attention and work better in smaller groups," Armato said.
She said reading teachers, such as Taulbee, are able to meet the needs of all of the school's readers, including Tyler.
"She's (Taulbee) able to tailor her program specifically to him," Armato said.
Taulbee's time with Tyler seems to be working. He says he's hoping to follow in her footsteps.
"I'm thinking about becoming a reading teacher," he said.
He already has some advice for anyone having trouble reading:
"They need to practice. The more you read, the better you get."