On Saturday, June 6th, 2026, the Newtown AYLUS members organized and hosted another community reading session for elementary school students. During this meeting, the group continued reading Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder, focusing on pages 26–46.
Unlike modern children’s books, this novel introduces students to a more historical style of storytelling and gives them insight into daily life on the American frontier during the late eighteenth century. The volunteers selected this book not only to strengthen reading comprehension and fluency, but to expose students to literature with historical and cultural significance, and to increase their range of vocabulary.
This time, three volunteers worked with a group of five children in a small and interactive setting.
The children took turns reading sections of the text aloud while the volunteers assisted in pronunciation, pacing, and vocabulary insight. Throughout the reading session, the students followed the Ingalls family as the small country-side household navigates through the various difficulties of the fall season. The children read how the Ingalls family faced and worked around a major financial setback with affording Mary’s college tuition while adapting to their everchanging surroundings. A wild blackbird infestation on the family farm ravaged the corn and oat crops that were intended to be sold to help pay for Mary’s tuition. However, the students discovered the profound resilience of the Ingalls family’s ability to find tranquility through group effort and quality family moments no matter the situation.
As the reading progressed, the group also discussed the personalities and responsibilities of the characters, particularly how family members supported one another despite difficult living conditions. The volunteers encouraged students to think about the challenges families such as the Ingalls family might have faced regarding weather, food, and/or money during 18th century America. Through guided discussion, the students were able to engage more deeply with both the story and its historical context.
After reading, the group took a 14 point quiz with 7 total questions to test and review each student’s knowledge of the novel, The Little Town On the Prairie, thus far. The quiz refreshed each student’s knowledge of the plot and characters within the novel, as well as challenged basic literary comprehension. Each student took the quiz with effort, with most getting a decent grade on the quiz.
The session was very engaging. The majority of the children participated actively and demonstrated improved reading and collective skills compared to previous meetings. The small group environment allowed each student to receive more individual support and encouragement from the volunteers. Overall, the event successfully promoted literacy and reading comprehension for students while maintaining a welcoming and collaborative atmosphere.
Participating members included Edward Soong(event leader), Kylee Guo, and Rumi Tian, each contributing one volunteer hour.