Preparing future teachers is starting earlier all the time.
This year for the first time, a Killeen ISD elementary school formed a future teachers club for fifth-graders to learn alongside high school students in KISD’s Career Center education program.
At Reeces Creek Elementary School, where there are 10 high school education interns this year, the juniors and seniors took on fifth grade mentees who think they might want to be teachers one day.
On Wednesday, a week after Read Across America Day and a few days before spring break, the fifth-graders conducted a “read along” for kindergarten and first-grade classes with their high school mentors at their side.
High school and elementary school students took turns reading the books, conducted discussion with the younger students and led activities.
Reeces Creek counselor Shana Munoz and Career Center education teacher Tina Tamplen coordinated the club and hope it continues in future years.
The students like it, too.
“We want to get kids excited about reading,” said Alannah Bush, a junior. “These kids are part of a mentorship program who want to be a teacher like I do or who show the qualities of a teacher.”
The older mentors and younger mentees met three times earlier in the school year before the read along activity.
“I like it. When I was younger, I looked up to my older brother and cousins, and they liked kids and I liked that about them, and I started liking kids too. I like being a good role model.”
They read a Dr. Seuss book with animals representing different emotions based on colors.
“I had (the fifth-graders) do the reading part so they could experience that and we asked what the animals were feeling and they got to act out different emotions like a charades game. It was really good. It hit well with the kids. We had fun.”
Araceli Hernandez-Martinez and her fifth-grade mentee read a book about a child who wanted to be lots of things when he grows up and was afraid to share his ambitions with other.
That led to an activity involving drawing a picture of what you want to be when you grow up.
“I love it. I love being around kids. I think it’s great that fifth-graders get to do this,” said Hernandez-Martinez.
“They ask a lot of questions, and some of them are scared of going to middle school and high school. It’s important for them to have someone who is not their teacher tell them it’s going to be OK.”
Fifth-grader Edith Cruz was thrilled to spend time with high school students who want to be teachers. She read to kindergarten students with her older mentor.
“This is for students who might want to be a teacher when they grow up,” said Cruz. “So, this is to pump them up when they are ready to be a teacher when they grow up. It’s really cool,” she said.
“It’s been fun. I want to be a teacher because my teachers always show respect and kindness to me and I want to do the same thing and make kids happy and comfortable.”
Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720332470125