GLC Guide

Thank you for volunteering to help out as a Grade Level Coordinator (GLC) at the reading clubs!  Your role as a GLC is one of the most important at the reading clubs, as you will be the direct contact and organizer for the volunteers in your grade level.

The most important aspect of your role is to be a welcoming face at your grade level table, especially for new volunteers.  As the GLC, it is your responsibility to introduce volunteers to each other, make sure that everyone knows who their partner is, and to help them work together to develop their plan for the reading clubs.  You are also responsible for the logistical organization of your grade level: ensuring that everyone has a partner, that groups have their materials, and that everyone knows the rules and schedule for the day.  The following guide includes a general discussion outline as well as a checklist for the morning duties.

The Site Coordinators will be talking with you throughout the morning to make sure that you have enough volunteers to maintain the assigned groups, to let you know of any special information for today’s reading clubs, and to answer any questions you may have.

Grade Level Coordinator’s Checklist

Before and During Volunteer Training (8:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m.)

      Please arrive by 8:30 a.m.  You will need a Pairing Sheet and GLC Grade Level Guide.  These documents will either be at your table or given to you by the Site Coordinator (“SC”).

      Set up your grade level table.  For each group, you should have:
- name tags for the kids
- 1 hardcover read-aloud book (with discussion questions/craft ideas sheet inside)
- 1 craft bag (if you need additional materials, please ask the SC)
- 1 prize book bag (please evenly distribute prize books between groups and put into bag)
- 1 Reading to Kids bookmark (optional - to be left in the classroom for the teacher)
- 1 room placard w/ map on back (some schools also provide a large manila envelope – if so, the shape on the room placard should match the shape on the envelope)

      Read your book early and familiarize yourself with the discussion and craft ideas provided.

      Check in volunteers at your table.  Highlight names on the Pairing Sheet and introduce the volunteers to one another.  Encourage them to get breakfast, begin reading their book, and make craft examples.

      Give envelopes to veteran readers as they arrive.  Each envelope represents a room assignment.

      New Volunteer Training is from 9:00-9:30.   Direct your new volunteers to the training area.

      Returning Volunteer Training starts at 9:15.  Please participate as needed.

After Volunteer Training (9:30 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.)

      Do you have enough volunteers?

- Make sure you have at least two volunteers per group.

- If you have fewer than the minimum number of volunteers needed, please tell the SC.

      Adjust pairings if needed.  Refer to “Pairings Guide” on back of page 2.

      Finalize room assignments.

      Discuss book, and answer questions.  Refer to the “Discussion Guide” on page 2. 

Last Minute (9:50 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.)

      Do not collapse into fewer groups at this time.  Your SC will inform you once outside if you need to do this.

      Remind volunteers about rules.  Highlight, from Rules Sheet: (1) Prop open the door; (2) Two volunteers in the room at all times; (3) Send kids to the bathroom in pairs; (4) Clean up room and close door when done; (5) Collect name-tags from the kids after the reading clubs.

      Explain pairing procedure to volunteers.  (1) Line up outside as instructed; (2) After lining up (and not before), hold up placard for kids to approach; (3) Once kids are lined up, before you leave the area, collect the boarding cards and give them to the SC; (4) Count the number of kids (bring back at least as many); (5) Proceed to classroom (map is on back, but older kids can guide volunteers).

GLC Discussion Guide

Introductions

     Have the group do introductions—and maybe share something about themselves (like we do in the groups with the kids)—before starting the discussion.
      ·         During the discussion, encourage veteran volunteers to share tips with new readers.

Reading

     Introduce the monthly theme.  Discuss how it relates to the book.
·         Discuss active reading questions and read through the book with the volunteers.
·         This is a good time to discuss how to share the reading of the book—alternating every few pages, etc.

    Remind volunteers not to be afraid to ham it up when reading, using different voices for different characters and letting emotions show in their voices.
·         Remind them to read at a slow enough pace so that the kids can follow along.
·         Volunteers can also copy characters’ actions, such as sneezing or sighing.  This is particularly helpful for English language learners.  
      By bringing the words to life through actions and your voice, the students are able to attach meaning to words they do not
      understand.

    Pictures also tell the story!  Look at the pictures and encourage the children to tell you what they see and to predict what will happen next.

    If a child asks a question, stop to talk about the story.
·         Begin reading again by re-reading a sentence or two before the place you stopped.

Managing the Clubs

    Review grade level abilities including attention span and craft abilities (these can be found at the end of the table on the grade level sign)
·         Engage the children in the story by having them move and make facial expressions like the characters.
·         Ask the children to supply sound effects while you read.  After reading, sing songs or play games relevant to the story or the theme.
·         Encourage children to connect the stories they hear and the characters they meet with events and people in their own life through
      drawing, drama, pretend play.

     Discuss how to choose a craft, how to relate it to the book, and how to execute it.
·         Make a sample if time permits.  Having a pre-made model gives the children a better idea of how their finished product should look
      and gets them excited about the story and craft.
·         Remind volunteers that craft time is a good time for asking questions and encouraging English conversation.

     Discuss strategies for controlling the classroom, including dealing with active and shy children.
·         Remind volunteers that for a shy child, large gatherings can be terrifying.
·         Remind volunteers to be patient if the child does not want to talk and not put them on the spot.  Instead, they can try changing the
      subject (you never know what can spark the interest of a child).

     Discuss time management.
·         The majority of the time should be used for reading.  For shorter books, the book may be read twice, first with questions, then
      straight through.
·         Volunteers will be expected to finish with reading, crafts, and clean-up by 11:25.
·         Discuss strategies for distributing prize books.

     Remind everyone that it is important that they and the children feel comfortable.
·         Encourage volunteers to feel free to have children sit on the classroom’s rug, on chairs in a circle, or at desks.
·         It is important that readers be at the children’s level.  If the children sit on the rug, then readers should also sit on the rug.

Don’t worry about having all the answers.  Encourage veteran volunteers to share their opinions and experiences, and consult your SC if necessary.

Pairings Guide:  How to Rearrange Volunteers if Necessary

You will receive a GLC Pairing Sheet that has the volunteers in your grade divided into however many groups you will be having.  At 9:30, you will want to talk with the Site Coordinator to finalize the group assignments.  There may be new volunteers that arrived late and went straight into training without checking in with you first.  Check the main sign-in sheet to see if volunteers have arrived but not checked in with you.  If you have fewer than the minimum number of volunteers needed, please tell the SC. 

The only set-in-stone rule about pairings is that each group must have at least 2 volunteers.  If you do not have enough volunteers to make this happen (and after talking with the Site Coordinator, you determine that there are no extra volunteers in other grades), you will have to collapse a group.  Please try to avoid this if possible.

Everything else about pairings is flexible, but we try to do the following, when at all possible:

·         Make sure that each new volunteer (0x) is reading with a returning volunteer

·         Try to keep people together if they have requested to read with each other

·         Distribute males and females across the groups as evenly as possible

·         Distribute Spanish speakers across the groups as evenly as possible (especially in the younger grades)

      If you receive extra late/walk-in volunteers after you have set the groups, feel free to rearrange the volunteers within your grade level.  If you had previously collapsed the groups, but you now have sufficient volunteers to have the proper number of groups, please rearrange the volunteers so that you now have the proper number of groups. 

    If you don’t have enough veterans, two new people can volunteer together if they are comfortable doing so and you approve. 

    If you have too many volunteers in your group, and you have to put three people in one room, please make sure they are comfortable with that arrangement.  If you have any groups of three, please make sure the SC is aware of this, because they may need to move the extra volunteer(s) to a grade where more volunteers are needed.

    If you end up needing to drop a group due to a volunteer shortage, make sure you discuss with the Site Coordinator which group (shape and classroom) will not be used.  This will help avoid confusion when pairing up with the students outside. 

    If you end up dropping a group, you will have one group of kids outside that have the dropped shape on their boarding passes.  Make sure the volunteers in your group know to stay until the Site Coordinator dismisses them, as the Site Coordinator will need to redistribute these students into the existing groups.