Each year, mentors organized themselves in
teams of two and three during the training
workshop/session. Each team member chose a
book to read aloud to the team and read it to them,
selected an appropriate reading response from their
Handbook, read the directions to the team
members, and completed the reading responses.
Mentors were encouraged to maintain the team
approach at the school site. At the end of these
training sessions, the mentors identified the times
they would be available and a schedule was
confirmed.
A Student Response Book was prepared for each elementary student participating in the program. This booklet included the same reading responses contained in the Male Mentor Handbook. No identification of the students was requested other than gender. Mentors selected an appropriate response activity for the students to complete following the read aloud session. To safeguard the anonymity of the students, it was requested that students only check the appropriate gender marker (Boy or Girl) on the cover of the Student Response booklets. These booklets were collected by the mentors after each session and stored in the principal's office. During subsequent sessions, the mentors redistributed the booklets to the students solely based on the gender marking. This became an issue during subsequent years. After the pilot year, the children at the research school asked to have their own response booklets back. Some refused to work in a booklet that another student had written in the week before. We agreed with them and asked for their initials only to be placed on the front cover along with the gender (M or F) ticked off.
Mentor teams were supported at the school by the researchers. Teachers were also asked to remain in their classrooms as a support to the mentors.