What are your thoughts regarding the A.R. Program and Daily 5?
This is a post from 2014 about accelerated reader. I will check with Allison about any current information they would like to share.
“I can’t find a reference here on the site, but I have hear the Sisters talk about AR. It certainly is not the goal that we have for our students when talking about Read to Self. This Read to Self time should be for both student-selected books and the rereading of texts introduced during conferences or strategy-group instruction. Testing on books read for pleasure/practice goes against the principles of Daily 5.”
I couldn’t agree more, however, I am the only one at my school doing the Daily 5. Everyone else LOVES A.R. and it is killing me.
I am the only one at my school too. I have snide remarks made about not aligning the curriculum due to my Daily 5 & CAFE & Daily 3 Math. The students excitement & year end growth allow me & my firsties to be "free" to choose good fit books!
I asked this question knowing the answer because I wanted affirmation. I have been struggling at my school because AR has become a big focus for incentives. My students have been asking why our class is not receiving awards and I explained to them that we are too busy to count words and that the retell rope is just like taking a test. I was also at a district meeting with first grade teachers and they were so upset that AR was being replaced by Reading Counts.
I believe in the Daily 5 and will continue to use it in my classroom even if I am the only one doing it. I am always so pleased this time of year when I see how much my students have grown and how much they love to read!
I use Daily 5 and students use A.R. in my classroom after reading a book during read to self they will quickly take an AR test using an iPad at their spot where they have chosen to read. A.R. in my classroom is not for a grade and students set their own goals to achieve each month. Student also choose their own “just right books” and not a certain AR level. I see excitement building throughout the year in my first grade classroom because of both Daily 5 Choices and A.R. I feel you can make both work if students are still reading for enjoyment.
Thank you for sharing your ideas. What do you do with the results of the tests? Do they need to do those? If they are using AR as another resource for online reading, that can be a good resource. Are they choosing other books from your classroom as well? We just want to make sure our kids are exposed to all kinds of books–physical and online, and not limited to a specific set of books.
Sounds like you are working to build the love of reading in your classroom.
Thank you! It is a lonely road. Glad to be able to discuss it here!
Best wishes to you too!
Thanks to all! Will bookmark this conversation, because my new principal's wife, who was hired as a reading interventionist, is pushing him hard to buy AR! Without putting her on the defensive, how can I help her change her mindset? One thing working against me is that although I believe strongly in the principles of The Sisters, my students last year made very little progress in reading. I know I need to improve instruction in order to help these kids, but don't want to give up and go back to AR type reading instruction.
That's a hard spot to be in! Perhaps sharing this article from Richard Allington, "Every Child, Every Day" might give her something to think about. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar12/vol69/num0... . Perhaps you could recommend other sites where students can read online without the restriction of having to take a quiz after the reading. Here's a list of sites recommended by the Daily Cafe:
Free Books
Stories to Grow By with Whootie Owl
Author Websites
Subscription Websites
National Geographic Explorer Magazine
Thank you for the great article and the websites. I knew many of them, but not all!
Thank you for the article by Richard Allington, and the list of websites. Last school year was difficult - we were handed the ReadyGen2016 curriculum in mid-October and told to implement it with fidelity. They purchased AR, but impleented it as an "outside of class" activity. All of a sudden, this summer, we were given the choice of using ReadyGen or Wonders curriculum. Still operating under the belief that all students need to be using the same curriculum. So this year, I'm going to be learning a new curriculum and still trying to use the Daily 5 framework, and hopefully many of the CAFE principals. Just wanted to thank you for your support!
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