Good Afternoon-- I have to start by saying that I am not an AR fan. I think it is just like the matthew effect--those who can do and those who struggle do not! But, since I have been in several schools that have mandated its use--there are things you can do to make it palatable!
My kids truly believed that every book was an AR book. Many teachers do not realize that every AR disc comes with blank tests that can be written by the teacher (or the students) and entered into the computer by the teacher for everyone in the school to take. this takes some work, but at the end of the first year my seventh grade struggling readers had written 50 tests and we edited them and put them in the computer together. I had to be very nice to my media specialist and she gave her blessing to each and every test the kids wrote--but that way, I did not have to restrict their reading to a certain selection of books. Most of my students were reading between the third and fifth grade level. Do you realize how many books are written (or not written) on a third or fourth grade level that interest seventh graders? Not many. So, we did away with the AR reading level and I ransacked the public libraries for books-on-tape and purchased even more with grant funds. We were able to make more texts accessible to them. Also, the typical third grade level book is worth about 3 AR points. The typical 7th grade level book checks in at 8-10--so my struggling readers would have had to read 3X as many books as their peers just to keep up. Well there was not a prayer! I was able to get my media specialist to set a goal and instead of plastic prizes we had a make your own sundae party for all of the kids who met their individual goals. The teachers set the goals with the kids. there was lots and lots of conversations about this. The idea we decided was to be inclusive instead of exclusive and to trust each other. There was never a question in four years about what kids went to the party! As an administrator I would never force any school into a program like AR. It is just not for everyone! Like Alphie Kohn says about the Pizza Hut Book it program is our kids who read alot get pizza and get fat! Our kids who don't read much--still don't read much! Mary Anne ________________________________________________________________________ Check out the new AOL. Most comprehensive set of free safety and security tools, free access to millions of high-quality videos from across the web, free AOL Mail and more. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
