samedi 8 octobre 2016

Gain Great Benefits With Accelerated Reading

By Marie Hamilton


Every day, teachers, as well as parents, face the challenge of helping a child find their love of books. Once they learn to read fluently and independently, the whole world of knowledge and adventure will open up to them. For 30 plus years, the Accelerated Reading program has been very effective at teaching young people to become better readers, and it also shows adults the areas in which they can help the children improve.

A mom who was searching for a way to help her children improve their comprehension and fluidity skills, developed the program in 1984. She would give them quick quizzes whenever they finished a book, as a way of finding out if they fully understood what they just read. In this way, she also came to realize there areas that were giving the kids trouble, and was able to focus on helping them resolve the problems.

The main concept in this program revolves around children choosing books that are on their particular competency level, to read independently. Once they have completed the book, they take a short quiz on the computer, of around 10 questions, that will assess their comprehension. The results are compiled into a simple report to show the areas in which each student is having problems.

There are more than 180,000 quizzes currently available through this program and more are being added regularly. The titles included in the collection range in levels of difficulty to accommodate children in grades kindergarten through High School, are both fiction and nonfiction, covering a vast array genres and subject matter. There are tests that go along with certain textbooks and publications like magazines, as well.

Determining a child's reading level starts with a computerized test that last about 10 minutes, and assesses their skills interactively. Depending on how they respond to each question, the difficulty level will adjust automatically to determine the point at which their comprehension and fluidity are optimal, the zone of proximal development (ZPD). Periodic reassessment can determine whether the student is improving.

Books on the program's recommendation list tend to be those which teachers or parents have requested, award winners, trending series, popular authors, those that have been reviewed favorably by leading publications, and especially those commonly carried the most school libraries. The rankings are based on the difficulty level, and number of words found in each book. Titles not currently included in AR can be ranked using a conversion scale.

While the program itself does not offer any particular incentives, many teachers, libraries, and parents, have developed their own systems of rewards. Studies show that when children work toward a goal, they tend to be excited about the task and perform it more diligently. Through this, they practice their skills, honing them as they go, to become more proficient readers while learning to enjoy certain genres or subjects, and choosing to read on their own just for pleasure.

Getting kids excited about improving how well they read is easy when using the AR program. Through the assessment reports, one can see which areas of comprehension the child requires additional attention and instruction. The point system encourages them to work towards a goal, whether it be for their own ambition, or to reach an incentive, while gaining valuable skills and a love of acquiring knowledge or taking adventures through printed words.




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