I am very happy with the progress of my students this year. My students are excited about reading. They love the fact that they can get books from me and the library. They feel special because most students haven't had books to read all year. We've been without a librarian up until last week. My students were able to take advantage of my class library.
The quality of their reading logs has also improved. Many are writing very detailed sentences. I'm having more parent involvement as well. Most parents are signing them regularly. I had almost no participation on this aspect last year.
More importantly, the students are performing well on the quizzes. They are happy to receive their scores and I can tell it encourages them to read more.
I look forward to how much they may grow this year. I feel our system is in place, and that they are taking advantage of it.
5 comments:
Wow, our library started the second week of school. That has to be hard for the students not having access to books. Have you thought about giving away rewards when the students reach a certain point levels? For example: 5pts, 10pts, 25pts, 50pt, 75pt, and 100pt. At my school we give away medals. It works well for the younger grades but it doesn't motivate the older students too well, but anything would work!
Have you considered the Ca. Reading List as a source of books? This list is compiled by the State and the weblink for it is actually posted on the back side of the students' annual STAR test results! Based on the student's STAR reading results, students are given a list number that matches their reading ability as determined by the state test. Think about this: You'd have a connection between STAR and specific reading material. Do you have access to the hard copies of the students' STAR tests from last year to look at each student's list number? If so, cross reference the list's titles with your AR results. You can use SPSS to correlate information (look back at the ERA 243 class work for correlational study info...) about STAR, Ca. Reading list, student's current achievement and so on...
Sharon's suggestion is a good one. In fact I may need to use that too. I also have a classroom library. I have a rotating student job called "librarian". The student with this job is in charge of checking in and out books for the week. I don't monitor it all that carefully but I know how much my students are reading outside of class because they take quizzes on the AR reading program and earn points as well. We have a weekly school wide ceremony to appreciate readers who have made their personal reading goals for the week. They get stickers to add to the school reading chart in our hallway. This works at our tiny school very well.
Great job! Sometimes kids can just surprise us with the work that they do. But I bet it has something to do with the teaching too!!
Okay, now.
Though I pooh-pooh AR, this is one occasion where I can say, I am glad you are using it. It seems to have had a positive effect on your students in regards to their motivation.
That's the key.
When the kids are enjoying AR, there is motivation to read. When they are motivated to read, research says they will comprehend more.
They are truly fortunate to have a teacher with their own library. Research ( i.e. the famous "book flood" study) shows exposure to lots of books is beneficial in creating life-long readers.
Way to go!
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