Accelerated Reader - help please!

[Mommy22alyns]

The girls attend a co-op one day a week. Becca just got tested for AR. Now what do I do?

[justasque]

I don't understand what you are asking. Could you add a few details?

[Mommy22alyns]

I don't understand what you are asking. Could you add a few details?

 

 

I think she took a test that determined her reading progress. She scored in the "probable reader" range which is laughable given that she's a proficient reader. :glare: Anyway, how do I go about finding books, having her take the quizzes, whatever?

[Hillary in KS]

I used to teach at one of the pilot schools for Accelerated Reader back in the early-mid 90's. As a supplement to what I taught, I was very thankful for AR. It was a program the kids enjoyed doing, provided some motivation, but was a wonderful tool to help me individualize each students' reading.

 

I'd be happy to answer questions, but will need some more information. Please post here or feel free to PM me.

 

I'm a fan of the *idea* of the program, and disagree with the opinion of the above poster. However, I will say that this program should not be all that you do. It was never meant to be the SOLE reading instruction for children, and shame on any teacher who is using it in such a fashion.

 

The basics, though, is that in order to increase fluency and comprehension, the child should be doing much of his reading at a level slightly below his tested reading level. That is the best way to increase fluency.

 

So, how we did it in school was we tested each child to determine their average reading level. Then we assigned them a reading range that was slightly lower. So if their reading level was 3. (Third grade, second month) they would probably have a reading range of 2.2-3.0. (For example.)

 

The plan, then, is to have the child reading books with reading levels anywhere in that range. This is where the majority of their independent reading should be. Can they read harder/easier books occasionally? Yes. Absolutely. But for school purposes you want to try to stay in that range as much as possible. In my classroom, we had Silent Reading Time for 60 minutes every day. (We started the year at 20, and I increased by 5-10 minutes every week until the kids got used to reading for such a long time.)

 

AR book lists are available at most libraries, as well as at the AR website.

 

After a child reads a book, they take a 5, 10, or 20 question multiple-choice quiz and earn points based on the correct answers. The data is accumulated on the computer and you can print out nifty reports that measure your child's comprehension in that reading range. If they consistently score highly (above 90%, I think) you adjust their reading range up.

 

Does that help? That's the gist of it.

 

I want to repeat that AR should NOT be your entire reading program. It's a supplement to help your child increase fluency and to provide you with information about your child's reading comprehension.

 

Have fun!

[Hillary in KS]

I think she took a test that determined her reading progress. She scored in the "probable reader" range which is laughable given that she's a proficient reader. :glare: Anyway, how do I go about finding books, having her take the quizzes, whatever?

 

What was the test? On a computer? On paper? Maybe she wasn't certain what she was supposed to do and therefore didn't do well on whatever they were using for a test.

 

Did they give you a reading range? If so, ask the children's librarian if they have AR reading lists. Or go to the AR website to check. They have a database where you can enter the title of books she's read to see their AR reading level. You can also search by level, I think.

 

As far as taking quizzes, etc, you need to talk to the co-op leader about that.

[LaissezFaire]

What would I do?

 

Dump the program. I think it's the worst thing to happen to reading. Talk about killing a child's love of reading.