As of November 21,
26 of my language arts students have 30 or more AR points!!!
The more you read, the more you know and the further you can go!
26 of my language arts students have 30 or more AR points!!!
The more you read, the more you know and the further you can go!
AR deadlines
1st six weeks: Wednesday, Oct. 2
2nd six weeks: Wednesday, Nov. 13
3rd six weeks: Wednesday, Jan. 15
4th six weeks: Wednesday, Feb. 26
5th six weeks: TUESDAY, April 15
6th six weeks: Wednesday, May 30
AR Trip Qualification Deadline: April 24
Sixth graders must have 125 or more AR points of their own by April 24 to qualify to attend the AR field trip!
AR Reading Pitfalls
I've been using AR to make sure students practice their reading for over 10 years, so I've learned a thing or two...
The biggest problem I see with AR reading is that students select books for the wrong reason and end up not being interested in them. STUDENTS SHOULD CHOOSE BOOKS BASED ON WHAT THEY LIKE! The number of AR points a book is worth is determined by how many words a book has--more words=more possible points. A student with a 15 point AR goal can read 15 1-point books or 1 15-point book. As long as they make 100s on their quizzes, they'll earn 15 AR points EITHER WAY. Struggling readers often do not understand this. They select books based on what they think they'll look cool carrying around school (MANY really, really do this!!!), for the same AR point value as their AR point goal, or because that's where their hand landed on when they blindly reached out and grabbed a book off the shelf while talking with their buddies. We have over 14,000 books in our library, but their AR book DOES NOT have to be from our library! AR has over 144,000 AR quizzes, and we don't care where they get their books! They CAN find many books that they will enjoy if they try hard enough.
Parents of struggling readers also may not understand that their child may claim to love a book but not be telling the truth. THEY'RE NOT LYING, not exactly, but they may think they SHOULD like it because other kids their age like it, the person asking them if they liked it recommended it, they'll be judged "stupid" if they don't like it, or some other reason that makes little sense to adults. Struggling readers often do not know what it means to enjoy a book so much that they don't want to stop reading, so they will trudge through the pages of a book they don't like and end up failing the AR quiz over it because their mind wandered the whole time their eyes were taking in the words.
AR reading SHOULD BE ENJOYABLE. We here at BMS keep their 6-weeks AR point goals low so that we don't stress kids out and take some of the enjoyment away from reading. The best thing a parent or guardian can do to help their child read is to take the stress out of it. When you ask them about their books, do it like the book is a movie they've seen that you're interested in. Ask them why it's titled what it is, why so-and-so is on the cover, etc. Keep these conversations light and positive.
Most of all, give them a grin or a thumbs up or a pat on the back when they show any little sign of effort at reading: remembering to read without you telling them, bringing home the book without you telling them, voluntarily telling you a few things about their book, etc. Try to see the tiny steps of progress and reward it with a knuckle bump or high five...They will keep stepping in the right direction if you're letting them know you're watching and glad about it.
Remember: You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)
1st six weeks: Wednesday, Oct. 2
2nd six weeks: Wednesday, Nov. 13
3rd six weeks: Wednesday, Jan. 15
4th six weeks: Wednesday, Feb. 26
5th six weeks: TUESDAY, April 15
6th six weeks: Wednesday, May 30
AR Trip Qualification Deadline: April 24
Sixth graders must have 125 or more AR points of their own by April 24 to qualify to attend the AR field trip!
AR Reading Pitfalls
I've been using AR to make sure students practice their reading for over 10 years, so I've learned a thing or two...
The biggest problem I see with AR reading is that students select books for the wrong reason and end up not being interested in them. STUDENTS SHOULD CHOOSE BOOKS BASED ON WHAT THEY LIKE! The number of AR points a book is worth is determined by how many words a book has--more words=more possible points. A student with a 15 point AR goal can read 15 1-point books or 1 15-point book. As long as they make 100s on their quizzes, they'll earn 15 AR points EITHER WAY. Struggling readers often do not understand this. They select books based on what they think they'll look cool carrying around school (MANY really, really do this!!!), for the same AR point value as their AR point goal, or because that's where their hand landed on when they blindly reached out and grabbed a book off the shelf while talking with their buddies. We have over 14,000 books in our library, but their AR book DOES NOT have to be from our library! AR has over 144,000 AR quizzes, and we don't care where they get their books! They CAN find many books that they will enjoy if they try hard enough.
Parents of struggling readers also may not understand that their child may claim to love a book but not be telling the truth. THEY'RE NOT LYING, not exactly, but they may think they SHOULD like it because other kids their age like it, the person asking them if they liked it recommended it, they'll be judged "stupid" if they don't like it, or some other reason that makes little sense to adults. Struggling readers often do not know what it means to enjoy a book so much that they don't want to stop reading, so they will trudge through the pages of a book they don't like and end up failing the AR quiz over it because their mind wandered the whole time their eyes were taking in the words.
AR reading SHOULD BE ENJOYABLE. We here at BMS keep their 6-weeks AR point goals low so that we don't stress kids out and take some of the enjoyment away from reading. The best thing a parent or guardian can do to help their child read is to take the stress out of it. When you ask them about their books, do it like the book is a movie they've seen that you're interested in. Ask them why it's titled what it is, why so-and-so is on the cover, etc. Keep these conversations light and positive.
Most of all, give them a grin or a thumbs up or a pat on the back when they show any little sign of effort at reading: remembering to read without you telling them, bringing home the book without you telling them, voluntarily telling you a few things about their book, etc. Try to see the tiny steps of progress and reward it with a knuckle bump or high five...They will keep stepping in the right direction if you're letting them know you're watching and glad about it.
Remember: You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)