Bradford’s ‘Book Chats’ Are Building Confident Readers

How do you get students excited about reading? Make it an event. 

That’s what Bradford Elementary School second grade teachers Jessica Michaud and Kristen Freeh are doing with their weekly book chats, supported by a grant from the Montclair Fund for Educational Excellence. 

Each week, parent or community volunteers come into their classrooms and read aloud with students in a small-group setting. Kids get to dig into context clues, learn new vocabulary words, and build reading comprehension skills. MFEE provided multiple copies of dozens of new books, written by authors of diverse backgrounds, to create an engaging experience for students.

"What's special about this project is that each child gets to read along with their own copy," said Masiel Rodriquez-Vars, MFEE's executive director. "In this era of online reading, it’s important to allow kids to hold a book, flip pages, and process text from a physical page."

Freeh, who has taught at Bradford for 34 years, is passionate about children’s literature: “During my many years at Bradford, I've made it my mission to find a book for every child to turn them into readers.”  

In her grant proposal, Michaud said the book chats would help students build confidence in reading and speaking through collaborative learning, and cultivate a classroom culture of curiosity, compassion, and community. That is exactly what MFEE witnessed on a recent Friday visit to Bradford to see the project in action. 

Kids were divided into four separate groups, each led by a teacher, parent, grandparent or student teacher. They each took turns reading aloud, discussing such topics as the author’s choice to use italics or what readers can learn from clues in the illustrations. They made a variety of text connections, discussed the story’s plot, setting, and characters, and sounded out new words like “devious” and “malodorous,” pondering their meaning. 

There were some guesses, lots of giggles, and even a challenge to use one of their new vocabulary words in a sentence over the weekend. It was a mission students seemed excited to accept. (Bradford parents, this may explain any unpleasant, stinky, “malodorous” references you may’ve heard at home.) 

One thing that was clear: Students were deeply engaged in books and learning together. 

“The impact has been tremendous. Students are building reading fluency through consistent practice with texts at their level, and their comprehension skills continue to grow as they engage in guided discussions. Perhaps most importantly, they are developing confidence as readers and discovering the joy of connecting with books — and with one another — through shared literary experiences,” Michaud shared with MFEE. “I am deeply appreciative of MFEE’s continued support of my second grade class and MPS teachers. Your investment in classroom resources directly enriches student learning and fosters a lifelong love of reading.” 

MFEE annually awards $60,000 in grants to educators across the Montclair Public Schools. It’s been funding teachers’ big ideas for 35 years, and the grant-making program continues to be a core part of the organization’s mission. Learn more.