DOGS HELP CHILDREN READ
Many children find reading aloud hard. They are afraid of making mistakes in front of their classmates. But in some schools, these children read to a special listener – a dog. Once a week, dogs and their owners* come to the school library. Each child sits next to a dog and reads a book to it.(lines 1–5)
The dogs for this program are chosen carefully. They must be calm and friendly, and they must like children. Before a dog can visit a school, it has to finish a training course with its owner. The course takes three months. There, the dog learns to lie quietly for half an hour while people read to it.(lines 6–10)
The reading lessons usually take place in the afternoon, when the library is quiet. First, the child chooses a book. Then the child starts to read, and the dog listens. The dog does not laugh when the child makes a mistake. If the child stops at a difficult word, the owner helps. Many children also show the dog the pictures.(lines 11–14)
After a few weeks of reading with the dogs, most of the children read faster than before. They also make fewer mistakes. Many of them start to take books home from the library, and their teachers are very happy.(lines 15–17)
Many schools would like to join the program. However, finding dogs for it is not always easy. Most dog owners have jobs, and they cannot come to school during the day. When a school does not have enough dogs, the teachers make a list of the children's names. The children then wait for their turn to read to a dog.(lines 18–21)
Ruth Miller and her dog Max visit a school library together every Tuesday. Ruth is 70 years old, and she has a lot of free time. "Max loves the children, and they love him," she says. "Some children even write him letters, and I read them to Max at home."(lines 22–24)