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S.O.A.R., Stop Over and Read, is a mentor project that started several years ago in the Poway Unified School District in the San Diego area by Bonnie Humes and Reba van Benthem. The program became a model for the Rolling Reader Program. The motto of the program is "Highlight my strengths and my weaknesses will disappear." SOAR is a one-on-one opportunity for children, mostly fourth and fifth graders, to be tutored by an adult volunteer. The focus is on problem solving text with almost daily practice to allow them to become successful as readers. Most importantly, students are guided in the use of reading strategies that promote independent reading. Students read with their assigned tutor for fifteen minutes for as many days each week as tutors are available, preferably four or five. Tutors use cueing systems, meaning, structure and visual, to lead students to the use of strategies. Praise is an important part of the tutoring experience for the student. Tutors also spend a few minutes at the end of a session discussing the story to see how well the student has comprehended the text. Most volunteers gain as much from this program as their students.
