Kids learn animals make great listeners

When Erik Fernandez mispronounces a word or makes a mistake while reading aloud, his reading buddy, Sabre, doesn't correct or berate the 10-year-old fifth-grader for slipping up.

And that's why Erik, and many of his classmates, enjoy reading to dogs during Woof Wednesdays at Lakewood Elementary School in Carpentersville. The registered therapy dogs that visit the school's media room once a month love the attention and playtime.

“I like that they can hear you reading and don't say that you're a terrible reader if you make a mistake,” Erik said.

The program has helped students improve their reading and comprehension skills in a few short months, said Jana Davis, a fifth-grade teacher who started Woof Wednesdays. The once-a-month activity started as a program for her class two years ago, but Davis took the program schoolwide last fall.

“It has been a real success with the kids, the kids are really enjoying it,” Davis said. “It is a creative way to get the students to practice what they are learning and to get them to read.”

The fifth- and sixth-graders collect Bulldog grams, or credits for good behavior, to earn a 15-minute time slot to read to the dog of their choice. There are smaller dogs like Chase — a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, or bigger dogs, like Cubbie, an English Mastiff.

Ruby Soto, 10, said while her favorite part of reading to the dogs is when they take a break to do tricks, she can also see improvements in her reading.

“My reading has gotten a lot better,” Ruby said. “I have stopped pronouncing words badly and I can read every sentence clearly.”

Sabre's owner, Hilery Page of East Dundee, said in addition to building their confidence in reading and comprehension, some students even overcome a fear of dogs.

“The dogs are nonjudgmental,” Page said. “They are always sweet and good-natured, which builds up a child's confidence around them.”