Description of Accelerated Reader (AR)
Accelerated Reader (We’ll call it AR for short) is a program that allows students to take a computer quiz over books they have read. Students are awarded "points" depending on how well they score on these quizzes. Each student has a personal goal of how many points he or she should get per nine weeks. AR is NOT required at Shreve Island, but highly encouraged and rewarded.
Accelerated Reader (We’ll call it AR for short) is a program that allows students to take a computer quiz over books they have read. Students are awarded "points" depending on how well they score on these quizzes. Each student has a personal goal of how many points he or she should get per nine weeks. AR is NOT required at Shreve Island, but highly encouraged and rewarded.
Here is a file that explains how to take an AR quiz.
| ar_instructions_for_parents_updated.pdf |
What is meant by "approved chapter book"?
When I say “approved” chapter book, this means that I must know about the book the student is reading BEFORE the AR quiz is taken. The easiest way for this to happen is to choose a book from the library and have me approve it. However, students can still win a stuffie on books that do not come from the library. Just remember, I must approve the book before the AR quiz is taken. This means the child can have a conversation with me during library time and tell me what book he or she is reading (if not something that is checked out). Then when I see the record of the quiz taken, I will know that the child read the book because we had the conversion about it. The reason I have this rule is because I have had kids in the past just all of a sudden show up with chapter books on their account that I suspected an older brother or sister might have “helped” them with or had to read for their own AR.
If your child hasn’t really read chapter books yet, one of the best books to start with for this challenge is the Junie B Jones Series. I do NOT count Dogman because it is a full graphic novel. I will not count any full graphic novel to win a stuffie. This challenge requires books with text covering the page, not full graphics or pictures. I’m not saying that I don’t want them reading graphic novels. The graphic novels are great, and they will get AR points for them. But I am not giving out the stuffies for them. I want to make it more of a challenge to earn them. Also, please remember that this explanation is saying that the kids must get the book approved before reading it. If a child approaches me and says that they passed an AR quiz on a chapter book and should get a prize, but the child never checked out the book or did not talk to me about it first, they will not get the prize.
When I say “approved” chapter book, this means that I must know about the book the student is reading BEFORE the AR quiz is taken. The easiest way for this to happen is to choose a book from the library and have me approve it. However, students can still win a stuffie on books that do not come from the library. Just remember, I must approve the book before the AR quiz is taken. This means the child can have a conversation with me during library time and tell me what book he or she is reading (if not something that is checked out). Then when I see the record of the quiz taken, I will know that the child read the book because we had the conversion about it. The reason I have this rule is because I have had kids in the past just all of a sudden show up with chapter books on their account that I suspected an older brother or sister might have “helped” them with or had to read for their own AR.
If your child hasn’t really read chapter books yet, one of the best books to start with for this challenge is the Junie B Jones Series. I do NOT count Dogman because it is a full graphic novel. I will not count any full graphic novel to win a stuffie. This challenge requires books with text covering the page, not full graphics or pictures. I’m not saying that I don’t want them reading graphic novels. The graphic novels are great, and they will get AR points for them. But I am not giving out the stuffies for them. I want to make it more of a challenge to earn them. Also, please remember that this explanation is saying that the kids must get the book approved before reading it. If a child approaches me and says that they passed an AR quiz on a chapter book and should get a prize, but the child never checked out the book or did not talk to me about it first, they will not get the prize.
Frequently Asked Questions about AR
What ages of kids can participate in AR?
1st-5th grades, although I wait a while to introduce it to 1st.
Can students only quiz on books from the school library?
No. You probably have plenty of books at home that students can quiz on. Visit arbookfind.com to see if the book is an AR quiz. You will also need to check the Book Level (BL). Students should not quiz on books too easy or too hard for them.
How do I know what level books are best for my child?
Most students have been given a reading assessment called the STAR reading assessment. This assessment assigns a reading range for students based on their score. First graders have not yet been given this assessment.
Can a child quiz on a book if he or she did not read it alone but someone else read it to him or her?
yes
What if a child needs the test questions read aloud?
Some of the quizzes have a read aloud feature. This is usually just picture books. If you want to know if a particular picture book has a read aloud feature for the quiz, look up the book on arbookfind.com and look at the quiz types listed. If it lists RV as one of the quiz types, then the quiz has "recorded voice" and will read the questions to the student.
What ages of kids can participate in AR?
1st-5th grades, although I wait a while to introduce it to 1st.
Can students only quiz on books from the school library?
No. You probably have plenty of books at home that students can quiz on. Visit arbookfind.com to see if the book is an AR quiz. You will also need to check the Book Level (BL). Students should not quiz on books too easy or too hard for them.
How do I know what level books are best for my child?
Most students have been given a reading assessment called the STAR reading assessment. This assessment assigns a reading range for students based on their score. First graders have not yet been given this assessment.
Can a child quiz on a book if he or she did not read it alone but someone else read it to him or her?
yes
What if a child needs the test questions read aloud?
Some of the quizzes have a read aloud feature. This is usually just picture books. If you want to know if a particular picture book has a read aloud feature for the quiz, look up the book on arbookfind.com and look at the quiz types listed. If it lists RV as one of the quiz types, then the quiz has "recorded voice" and will read the questions to the student.