For the next few weeks, more than 300 first and second grade America Reads students from local elementary schools will be invited to the University of Maryland to see where their college mentors live, learn and work. Students will begin their day by taking a tour of the campus, which will be followed by lunch with university students and staff. After lunch they will participate in several fun activities and games. Then members of the University community will entertain the children by dressing in costume and acting out favorite stories. At the end of the day, university students and staff will read a book donated by the University Bookstore to their mentee.
Children look to our students for encouragement and guidance.
America Reads gives our students the opportunity to emphasize the importance of reading to their future. The America Reads program helps to ensure that all American children can read independently and well by the end of the third grade by getting them excited about reading and writing. Each semester approximately 70 University of Maryland students serve as reading mentors to 400 first and second graders. The eight schools selected by Prince George's County Public Schools were chosen for their proximity to the University, the presence of a reading specialist and the percentage of children from low income families or with the greatest need for reading assistance. The reading mentors follow a half-hour, four part session plan each time they meet with their students.