It is a special day for Mrs. Johnson's second-grade class. They are going to their library class this afternoon to meet with the school librarian, Miss Salazar. The first graders are very excited and loud when entering the school library. The reason for their excitement is that today is February 1st also known as World Read Aloud Day.

Welcome, class! Today is February 1st and World Read Aloud Day!

First, Miss Salazar begins to explain what the students will be doing for World Read Aloud Day during their library time.

She says, "Okay, Everyone. Today is WORLD Read Aloud Day. We are going to choose some books to read with a partner or in a small group. Let's get started!"

Then many of the eager students swiftly walk to the bookshelves choosing many different books. Animal books, spaceship books, joke books, flower books, superhero books, and more!

Okay, Everyone. Today is WORLD Read Aloud Day. We are going to choose a book to read to a partner or in a small group. Let's get started!

Well... unfortunately, there was one student who was not very excited. This student's name was Carlos. He was very crabby when he came to the school library and hated to read. Carlos grew up speaking Spanish at home and found it difficult to read and speak in English. What he hated the most was when his classmates made fun of him as he read books aloud in English. He had a few friends in class but was unable to communicate often with them. He did not want to stay in the school library any longer and tried to leave the room.

Immediately, Carlos says, "I AM NOT READING A BOOK AHORA! I AM LEAVING!"

I am not reading a book AHORA! I am leaving!

Before Carlos attempted to leave the room, he ran to the bookshelves. He grabbed the books and threw them down to the floor. He began to scream as each book flew off the shelf. As the other students read silently, he made as much noise as possible to disrupt them. 

Then he was surrounded by an enormous pile of books around his feet, blocking him from leaving the school library. He tried to move them out of the way but was stuck in the mess he had made.

 Oh, I have an Idea! 

Miss Salazar calmly walked over to Carlos, to see what was wrong. She knew about his situation of the language barriers at home and school. She wanted to help him participate as well as enjoy today's activities.

An idea popped into her head. Instead of reading a book in English because he was unfamiliar with the language, he could read one in Spanish to his friends and classmates. 

Many of his classmates want to learn Spanish too and this would be a great gateway to start the activity for him. It will also help him become more comfortable reading to his friends and classmates all while learning new English words and grammar.

After Miss Salazar walked over to Carlos and helped him clean up his mess, she asked him to read one of their most popular books in Spanish to his best friend in class, Jean. 

Jean was nervous about learning Spanish but was eager to learn as well as help out his best friend Carlos. Miss Salazar saw this as an opportunity for the two students to learn more about a new language from each other. 

Carlos was at first unsure of this idea but went along with it because he wanted to be with Jean.

How about Carlos reads Spanish to Jean? And Jean you read in English to Carlos?