Accelerated Reader Mrs. Hayes West Elementary School

What is Accelerated Reader? Accelerated Reader involves students taking a quiz after reading a book, and is a great way to hold students accountable for their reading practice. At the elementary level, we focus on getting the kids' reading levels to a place where they can handle most books with ease. This means being fairly rigid with book levels when they are emerging, and lightening up on that rigidity, as they become mature readers. By the time they get to the middle school, all focus is taken off of the book level--our goal is to get them to discover favorite authors and genres and become lifetime readers, not just "AR Readers."

Reading Stamina Research has proven that increasing a student's reading stamina will help them perform better on standardized tests. Here at West Elementary having exemplary test scores is an important goal of ours. However, we believe there's another goal that is equally as important--and that is for our school to develop happy, successful human beings. We have discovered something that helps us with both of these goals. We have found that it if we can build a true love of books and literature, then kids will want to read. Getting children to want to read is half the battle. Once they have that desire and are given time to practice, then they will read. Once they're reading, a whole new world opens up for them. The teachers at West Elementary understand how powerful this is--and fully appreciate being part of such a foundational part of their students' lives.

Reading Stamina So--how do we build reading stamina? One of the ways to build stamina is by reading longer books. Students are not automatically able to read and comprehend long books, though--it's a process. Just like a baby has to crawl before they walk,and a toddler has to walk before they run, a reader has to have certain skills before they can read books without pictures in them. For most students, this follows a typical pattern:

Pre-K-K

K-1st Usually towards the end of Kindergarten/beginning of first grade, most students are able to read more words on their own. At this stage, they start reading very short, easy picture books without any help from an adult. They start becoming more and more independent as readers. The first time a child reads a book all by themselves, and comprehends what they've read is a momentous occasion--both for the child, and for the teacher. We make a huge effort to celebrate that independence--after all, once they become independent readers they are on their way to becoming lifetime readers.

Magic Once students master picture books-and get plenty of practice with them, they are ready to begin chapter books--and this is when the magic starts to happen. For a child, it really is magical when they are able to read a book without pictures in it. If they are able to read and comprehend, without using pictures as clues, it really is as if light is pouring into their brains and magic is taking place--and at West Elementary, we celebrate that magic!

What are the reading goals that the children should earn?

Why all the concerns about students reading at different levels? Each student is exposed to different vocabulary during their lives and develops words they use in speech and writing. By expanding the vocabulary level of each student grows in all academic areas.

How do I choose a book? Don't pick a book based solely on its point value! Pick a book that is interesting to you, is at an appropriate reading level, and can be read in a week or two or less.You only get one chance at passing a quiz. If you read a 20-point book that takes you weeks to finish and you fail the quiz, you will have no points to show for it!

How often should I be reading? It's like any other skill--your time and effort practicing the skill determines your success. Ideally, you should be reading at least 60 minutes a day. Most days you will have minutes in your classroom to read. This means you will need at least 30 more minutes of reading time outside of your classroom. Remember your reading ability and speed increases with practice!! READ, READ, READ, AND READ SOME MORE.

How many times can I take the quiz one one book? You can take the quiz only once! Most quizzes are 5 or 10 multiple choice questions. If you read a classic, the quiz is usually 20 questions. Once you choose an answer to a question and click on "OK", you can't change your answer. Also, since you can't skip a question and answer it later, you must answer the questions in order.

Are the tests hard?

Why do Accelerated Reader?

file:///Macintosh HD/Users/shayes/Desktop/Why 100% on AR.pdf Why 100% on AR?