Implementating AR school wide

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Implementating AR school wide

by Ann Pinello

Jul 14, 2009

Does anyone have an implementation plan they are willing to share? How teachers incorporate AR into grading or rewards? Point goals correlated to grade levels? Anything to get us started.

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Elaine On 7/14/09, Ann Pinello wrote: > Does anyone have an implementation plan they are willing to > share? How teachers incorporate AR into grading or > rewards? Point goals correlated to grade levels? Anything > to get us started.

I am a k-12 librarian. We implemented a/r at the elementary and jr. high level 2 years ago and include...See More

Jul 29, 2009

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Samantha On 7/14/09, Ann Pinello wrote: > Does anyone have an implementation plan they are willing to > share? How teachers incorporate AR into grading or > rewards? Point goals correlated to grade levels? Anything > to get us started.

I'm a media clerk at a Title I elementary school where grades 1-5 participate in AR (about 1,000 stude...See More

Aug 3, 2009

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Carolyn Question: if all these rewards were removed, no celebrations, no "nothing", how do you feel the students would feel about AR?

Shouldn't reading be something that is intrinsically rewarding, not based on "public displays of celebration"?

I'm still not understanding how this relates back to READING achievement. You're describing POI...See MoreQuestion: if all these rewards were removed, no celebrations, no "nothing", how do you feel the students would feel about AR?

Shouldn't reading be something that is intrinsically rewarding, not based on "public displays of celebration"?

I'm still not understanding how this relates back to READING achievement. You're describing POINT achievement.

Please help me to understand how to use AR to intrinsically motivate students to become life long readers. That's really the goal of teaching reading, isn't it?

On 8/03/09, Samantha wrote: > On 7/14/09, Ann Pinello wrote: >> Does anyone have an implementation plan they are willing to >> share? How teachers incorporate AR into grading or >> rewards? Point goals correlated to grade levels? Anything >> to get us started. > > I'm a media clerk at a Title I elementary school where grades > 1-5 participate in AR (about 1,000 students). Each student > has a folder with a reading log that is a collaboration with > Guided Reading. Their STAR test is part of library > orientation. We set the goals based on the STAR test. It > may seem like a lot of work for us but it makes goals > consistent across the board. > > We have a wall outside the media center where each class has > their own goal chart. The charts are marked from 10% to 150% > of goal in increments of 10. When the students "earns" a new > square, we give them the marker and they go fill it in. I > print the report and check it once a week just in case we > miss anyone. > > Students who are doing really well, get a great score on a > tough book, etc. are special guests on the morning > broadcast. We also have a BB where kids can post > achievements they are proud of. When our Principal adds a > new fish to our tank, AR stars have their names put in a > basket and she draws one to name the new fish. > > We have a celebration in the media center at the end of each > nine weeks for all the students who have made their goal and > have a average of 80% or better. They are literature based > with lots of fun activities. We've celebrated Harry Potter, > Magic Tree House, Roald Dahl, etc. Every student at the > celebration leaves with a new book. Scholastic Book Fairs > provides the books as part of our profits. > > Another motivator we use: teachers and administration are "in > the system" and all have a 20 point goal each nine weeks > (they are on the wall charts, too). Teachers who are > participating have the highest student participation. > Students LOVE to see the principal's TOPS report on the BB. > Teachers who make their goals are invited to the celebrations!

Aug 12, 2009

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Renee On 8/12/09, Carolyn wrote: > Question: if all these rewards were removed, no celebrations, no > "nothing", how do you feel the students would feel about AR? > > Shouldn't reading be something that is intrinsically rewarding, > not based on "public displays of celebration"? > > I'm still not understanding how this relates back t...See MoreOn 8/12/09, Carolyn wrote: > Question: if all these rewards were removed, no celebrations, no > "nothing", how do you feel the students would feel about AR? > > Shouldn't reading be something that is intrinsically rewarding, > not based on "public displays of celebration"? > > I'm still not understanding how this relates back to READING > achievement. You're describing POINT achievement. > > Please help me to understand how to use AR to intrinsically > motivate students to become life long readers. That's really the > goal of teaching reading, isn't it? > Carolyn,

I didn't give any rewards last year other than praise and encouragement. Rather than tracking AR points, I tracked total words read. I let the kids know on a regular basis how many words they had read, and I gave them a goal of how many words I wanted them to read. I found that the kids liked seeing that there was a way to track how much they had read all year, and it led many of them to get into reading chapter books on their own for the first time. The nice thing about AR is that you can be certain that the kids are actually using their reading time to read rather than to browse or daydream.

I found that I could push some reluctant readers to get into a book by having a conference about their words read on AR. By the time they read a couple of chapters they would usually be excited to finish the book because they had grown to like it. Eventually I didn't have to push them to read as much, and they started bringing in their own books from home (this is huge considering the low-income community my school is in).

By the end of the year there was a clear correlation between the number of words read and reading benchmark exam scores. Regardless of how they had performed in ELA the year before, the children who got into reading and checking their AR data performed much better than those who did not. I am going to make a bigger push for using AR in class this year. Even if you choose not to give tangible rewards, you can definitely use AR as a tool to help children become excited about reading.

Aug 19, 2009

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Mike Is there really a method to achieve life long readers? I guess I don't think of AR and its goals to achieve life long readers as one in the same. Does AR motivate students to read? Would a student read a book or the number of books or increase theiir literacy without some kind of guidance or software solution? Keep in mind, software solutions are n...See MoreIs there really a method to achieve life long readers? I guess I don't think of AR and its goals to achieve life long readers as one in the same. Does AR motivate students to read? Would a student read a book or the number of books or increase theiir literacy without some kind of guidance or software solution? Keep in mind, software solutions are not end solutions. They just guide you in the practices you want to implement. Its still your mindset on how to utilize the resources you are given. I see tremendous excitement in our school since developing AR, but AR is not my only method for reading comprehension. I look at it like this;

1). Are students reading and learning? 2). Would more students read with or without the software 3). Could my curriculum reading plan which does include AR be the base foundation for potential life long readers?

I cannot help it if a student gets to 9th grade and decides to take up sports over reading. But if my students are reading at a 9th grade level then I have accomplished the foundation. We plant the seed, the student needs to allow it to grow.

On 8/12/09, Carolyn wrote: > Question: if all these rewards were removed, no celebrations, no > "nothing", how do you feel the students would feel about AR? > > Shouldn't reading be something that is intrinsically rewarding, > not based on "public displays of celebration"? > > I'm still not understanding how this relates back to READING > achievement. You're describing POINT achievement. > > Please help me to understand how to use AR to intrinsically > motivate students to become life long readers. That's really the > goal of teaching reading, isn't it? > > On 8/03/09, Samantha wrote: >> On 7/14/09, Ann Pinello wrote: >>> Does anyone have an implementation plan they are willing to >>> share? How teachers incorporate AR into grading or >>> rewards? Point goals correlated to grade levels? Anything >>> to get us started. >> >> I'm a media clerk at a Title I elementary school where grades >> 1-5 participate in AR (about 1,000 students). Each student >> has a folder with a reading log that is a collaboration with >> Guided Reading. Their STAR test is part of library >> orientation. We set the goals based on the STAR test. It >> may seem like a lot of work for us but it makes goals >> consistent across the board. >> >> We have a wall outside the media center where each class has >> their own goal chart. The charts are marked from 10% to 150% >> of goal in increments of 10. When the students "earns" a new >> square, we give them the marker and they go fill it in. I >> print the report and check it once a week just in case we >> miss anyone. >> >> Students who are doing really well, get a great score on a >> tough book, etc. are special guests on the morning >> broadcast. We also have a BB where kids can post >> achievements they are proud of. When our Principal adds a >> new fish to our tank, AR stars have their names put in a >> basket and she draws one to name the new fish. >> >> We have a celebration in the media center at the end of each >> nine weeks for all the students who have made their goal and >> have a average of 80% or better. They are literature based >> with lots of fun activities. We've celebrated Harry Potter, >> Magic Tree House, Roald Dahl, etc. Every student at the >> celebration leaves with a new book. Scholastic Book Fairs >> provides the books as part of our profits. >> >> Another motivator we use: teachers and administration are "in >> the system" and all have a 20 point goal each nine weeks >> (they are on the wall charts, too). Teachers who are >> participating have the highest student participation. >> Students LOVE to see the principal's TOPS report on the BB. >> Teachers who make their goals are invited to the celebrations!

Aug 24, 2009

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