FIRST-GRADE LITERACY PROGRAM
First grade is a critical time for reading skill acquisition. SitStayRead’s Little Buddies literacy program focuses on big picture literacy skills, such as character identification, sequencing, and listening comprehension. Our proprietary curriculum introduces students to reading to dogs in the classroom and incorporates social-emotional learning.
The Little Buddies program runs for six consecutive weeks, with two Book Buddies, at least one Dog Team, and a SitStayRead Program Leader visiting the classroom once a week for an hour each time. Each session includes a read-aloud and group discussion followed by individual creative writing and drawing activities while individual students peel off for one on one time with the dog team/s.
Like all SitStayRead curricula, our first-grade literacy program contains five core elements: read-aloud, discussion, writing, social-emotional learning, and developing the animal-human bond. Learn more about our curriculum.
“This program is great for my class. It stimulates the students’ imaginations.”
We partner with schools and community-based organizations where the student population is at least 90% low-income and 60% of third-grade students score below the national reading average. If you’re interested in our literacy program for first graders, please complete our partnership interest form.