Fourth grader Rose Johnson read her report about Benjamin Franklin Wednesday to her peers and four residents of Primrose Assisted Living Care Center.

When she struggled with the word "accomplishment," her classmates whispered the correct pronunciation. Then the residents helped.

"You can handle it, come on, let's go," said Primrose resident Archie K. Hansen, encouragingly. "Remember, you're reading to us, not just to yourself."

Rose continued on with her report until the conclusion and the group applauded. Rose was part of a Southgate Elementary fourth and fifth grade class that had come to Primrose to share reports and journal entries with the residents.

The students split into four groups and read recent research papers about Benjamin Franklin and personal thoughts about their day.

Their teacher, Dean Burzinski, has been talking with them about service learning and he and the students decided to spend part of their day at Primrose with the residents.

"It really kind of came up after the holidays," Burzinski said. "We were talking about what we can do to help others. It's kind of hard to go mow lawns in the winter. They talked about visiting people in nursing homes."

Primrose is just across the street from Southgate, so the students were able to walk there and spend an hour with the residents.

The residents hear about what the children are doing in school and what goes on in their days. The students get experience speaking before a group and get a few tips from the residents.

Irma Ayala, a fifth grader, thought the residents enjoyed hearing their reports. Danielle Hernandez agreed.

"They're very respectful and they have been to many places we haven't been to and they can tell us things," said Hernandez, a fifth grader.

Esther Liekteig, an Primrose resident, said she enjoyed listening to the stories about their lives.

She and Agnes Jeffries commented that the children had good reports, but needed to talk louder when presenting them. They agreed the more they read aloud, the better they would become.

"I hope they do it again," Liekteig said. "It cheers you up on this cold winter day."

Burnzinki is planning to bring students to Primrose once a month.

"It's a nice learning experience for the kids to speak to an audience," Burzinski said.

Students also said they would like to come back.

"They're really nice," Ayala said.

After the students were done reading, they headed to the dining room for lemonade and cinnamon rolls. The residents and students at first sat at separate tables, but after eating, a few students went up to other tables and chatted with residents.

A half-dozen students walked back to the lobby and crowded around a resident working on a puzzle.

"I love it. I like young people. I'm not scared to talk to the kids," Hansen said. "If you don't say something to them, you can't help."

Cari Quam can be reached at 434-2235 or by e-mail at cari.quam@austindailyherald.com