A long standing tradition for Keystone 3rd graders is our monthly trips to the Keystone Nursing and Care Center, where students show off their reading skills to the residents. This very quickly becomes a highly anticipated adventure for 3rd graders, without having to travel a great distance. The residents at KNCC seemed equally excited to see us enter their doors. Our close proximity allows us to make positive and memorable connections with community members that have made such a positive impact on the culture of our towns and school district.
One major educational standard that is strengthened from this experience is our fluency and reading. Being able to read our books so that our new friends can understand us and enjoy our time together, required us to practice a lot! We talked about picking out appropriate books for the situation. We practiced the volume and speed of our speech. Students deciphered and decoded words before reading it out loud. The best is that we are giving the students a clear and real world purpose to practice reading.
Another benefit is a chance for all of us to practice being compassionate and making connections with new people. Before our first class trip to the Nursing Home we discussed compassion and generated a list of ways that we can show it. Students were given time to discuss with each other the importance of showing the residents respect, and one way we can do that is by taking time to visit with them. We discussed how all of our lives can be enhanced in this experience. Keystone 3rd Graders are making a difference!
