JFK Students “Adopt” Stuffed Dogs for Independent Reading

“I like petting it while I read. It’s soft,” said John F. Kennedy Elementary School second grader Reagan Nuzzo of her floppy-eared stuffed dog. Reagan was reading The Hardy Boys during silent reading with her Doggie Reading Buddy.

“I recently came across an article that talked about children visiting local shelters to read to dogs,” said teacher Megan Gersch. “The article noted how this helps the children with practicing their reading while giving the lonely dogs company.”

This sparked an idea for Gersch, who teaches with Michael Tomassi and teacher’s aide Deb Oliveri.

“When I first introduced our ‘Doggie Reading Buddies’ and told the class that we had adopted three dogs they were very excited,” she said. It was so popular they added two more adoptions the following week and are considering adding some cats into the mix.

“To give students ownership of the dogs, we gave them each a slip of paper and asked them to write down a name,” Gersch said. “We drew out five names from a bag and named our Doggie Reading Buddies Ace, Elizabeth, Miss Puff, Rose and Bosco.”

Elliani Estevez held her dog close while she read.

“It’s soft. And you can read to them,” she said. “I like to pet it while I’m reading.”

Elliani was also reading The Hardy Boys and lit up when asked about her book.

“It’s kind of like Nancy Drew,” she said thoughtfully. “They solve mysteries and find clues. I like it.”

Her peers who had Doggie Reading Buddies seemed equally engrossed. Some hugged their dogs close while they read, while others positioned their buddies so that they could see the words too.

“The main goal of our pet adoption is to engage and focus the students during independent reading,” Gersch said. “So far we have seen that the students are more focused, eager and willing to read than they previously were.”