5.6 Demonstrate research-based instructional practices for developing reading fluency and reading endurance.
|
Accelerated Reader (AR) The Accelerated Reader program has been around since I was in elementary school. However, that does not make it any less valuable. It encourages students of all ages to read: improving their fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. By setting a quarterly goal and incentivizing reading, students are more likely to spend time reading and increasingly their endurance. Within this program, students are encouraged to read each text at least three times and ideally once with a parent. They are, then, asked to complete a short comprehension quiz to determine what information they retained. If they do well, they are awarded points towards their overall goal.
In my classroom, the students are given several opportunities each day to read AR. During English Language Arts Center rotations, each student is assigned a place in the classroom to stretch out and read during the AR Center. The students appreciate the flexibility of not always having to sit upright at their desk while reading. Additionally, right after lunch, we have another block of reading time. This time period is devoted to going to the library, taking AR tests, and reading independently. Finally, we ask each student to try to read for twenty minutes each night. It is our expectation that some of this time is spent reading to or with a parent or older sibling. Every Friday morning we have an AR ceremony in which we acknowledge our students' progress. Their little fish swims closer and closer to its goal of one hundred percent each quarter. During first quarter, fifteen of our seventeen students achieved their AR goals. I have always loved and probably always will love AR. I do not believe that it should be used as a stand-alone reading strategy, but in conjunction with other research-based practices, it can be a highly effective tool. My students love AR time! They enjoy sharing what they are reading with their classmates, my mentor, and myself. They work hard to improve their fluency and comprehension as many of them know that it will help them to be successful later in life. Above all else, I value the Accelerated Reader program for the drive and perseverance it instills in my students. |