St. Peter’s Primary School Collegeland Parent’s Information Evening November 2014

 New School Website.  Accelerated Reader.  Tea/ Coffee. Program for the evening

 Information for parents  Show parents what is happening in school  Opportunity to celebrate success  Important school documents  Calendar  School Website

 Children who read often and widely, improve!  Reading exercises our brains. ( Reading is a much more complex task for the human brain than watching TV. Reading strengthens brain connections and actually builds new connections)  Reading improves concentration.  Reading teaches children about the world around them. ( Through reading, children learn about people, places and events outside their own experience.)  Reading improves a child’s vocabulary and leads to more highly- developed language skills. Accelerated Reader The benefits of reading regularly

 Reading develops a child’s imagination (This is because when we read our brains translate the descriptions we read of people, places and things into pictures.)  Reading helps children develop empathy (identifying with the character in the story so you’re feeling what he’s feeling)  Reading is a great form of entertainment!  Reading relaxes the body and calms the mind ( Very effective in calming children before going to sleep) Benefits of reading

 Accelerated Reader helps develop reading age growth in just one academic year while promoting reading for pleasure.  Using information generated by the software, teachers can help students select books that are difficult enough to keep them challenged, but not too difficult to cause frustration.  Develop a lifelong love of reading in our pupils  Motivate pupils of all ages to read more, suitably challenging, books  Raise literacy standards for pupils of all ages and abilities  Access instant reporting on each pupil’s progress and diagnose problems Why Accelerated Reader

 Star Test- Children take a test at the beginning of the term.  Set practice targets – Teacher sets time, software sets difficulty.  Personalise practice -Personalised reading practice means that pupils read books of interest at their own reading level.  Pupils take an AR QuizAR Quiz  Pupils and teachers get instant feedback to help motivate success with the use of TOPS reports.TOPS reports  Teachers can access progress reports, review the targets, see how many quizzes, the level of books covered.  Awards for targets reached. How Does It Work

 A range of book levels recommended for each pupil based on their reading ability. The pupil has free reign to choose books from within their entire ZPD range. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

 Parents can track their children’s reading from home using the internet site, Home Connect.  Parents can set up their address to receive automatic feedback.  The bookshelf shows all books read and quizzed by their child for Accelerated Reader. Home Connect

 Promote the program at home-connect monitor, ask questions, check the books are being read.  Purchasing books? Check that they’re accelerated readers.  Time bedtimes so that there are opportunities to read.  Reward in school-Reward at home.  Library- Section of accelerated readers.  Questions Role of Parents

 Increased motivation.  Most boys and girls love competition!!!  Children reading books which are at an appropriate level.  Raising achievement. Benefits

And now…