Is AR Killing the Love of Reading?

Over the past year, I have really taken it upon myself to immerse myself in the world of children's literature.  I believe that in order to be the best reading teacher, I must know what's available and be able to make personal recommendations to my young readers.

I have come to this conclusion by learning from people like Donalyn Miller (The Book Whisperer), blogs like Nerdy Book Club, conferences like All Write, and through various chats on Twitter.

We all know that to become a good reader, children must read.  A lot.  Like, really, really a lot.  Look at the top readers in your classroom.  What do they do?  They read a lot.  Now look at your lowest readers.  What aren't they doing?  Reading.

Our goal as teachers should be to teach our students to become passionate about their reading lives, to be so excited about a book that they just can't help but talk about it in hopes of getting others to love it as much.  That's what I do as a reader.  As soon as I finish a book, I have the perfect student reader in mind for it.  The next day, I go into class, find that student, and say, "Have I got a book for you!"

In my school district, like many school districts, Accelerated Reader is a program we use to monitor students' reading.  In case you aren't familiar with AR, students read a book in their assigned level then take a quiz on the book to test their comprehension.  Each book is assigned a point level and when students finish a quiz, they earn points.  Their goal is to earn a certain number of points each quarter.

At first, I loved AR.  It was a way that I could do a quick check of my student's reading ability and the amount of reading they did.

However, now I feel this love affair is ending.

After taking on this mission to immerse myself in children's lit, I am beginning to see the shortcomings of programs like AR.

My students are looking at books for the point value they offer, not for the ideas and stories they contain inside.  Let me say that again -- students are equating books with points, not with the love of reading.

The quizzes that students take after finishing a book are very surface level.  After taking enough of these quizzes, my students have figured out what they need to remember about a book in order to pass the quiz.  There is no deeper level thinking required by the quiz.

Many of the newer titles that get released take awhile to make their way into the AR quiz system.  I have actually been told by students that they couldn't read a book I was recommending because there wasn't a quiz they could take at the end.

Really?

All of my thinking came to a blowing point this past week when one of my students revealed to me in a reading conference that he felt like he needed to abandon a book.  This is one of my students who has worked so hard to improve as a reader and has made amazing gains.

I asked him why he wanted to abandon his book.  Wasn't he enjoying it?

He said he loved the book, but he was worried that he wouldn't pass the AR quiz.  You see, the book was slightly above his level and he was concerned that he wouldn't remember the minute details that the quiz would surely ask.

I asked him if he would keep reading the book if I didn't require him to take the quiz.

"Really?" he asked.  "I can do that?"  His eyebrows shot up and a smile spread across his face.

Yes, you can.

I want my students to become lifelong readers.  Readers who are excited about reading.  Who take chances and try new things in their reading.  I make lots of books available in my classroom, and I want my students to feel like they can read any one of them just "because."

After all, how many of us book lovers take a quiz when we finish a book?

Why I Spent My Winter Break Reading

The second week of winter break is coming to an end.  I am a bit sad, but looking forward to going back into my classroom to share my winter break experiences with my students.

These past two weeks, I had lots of adventures.

I visited Victorian England and hung out with two Irish orphans.  I spent time with a deaf child who learned that her deafness could be her superpower. I explored 1920's New York city with another child who went on a quest to discover where he came from.

I didn't leave home to do any of this.

I didn't warp back in time.

What I did do, was READ.  A lot....

Why did I spend my winter break reading middle grade fiction, you wonder?

1.  I want my students to know that I wouldn't ask them to do anything that I wouldn't do myself.  I asked them to read over break, so I did the same.

2.  To be able to recommend books to students, I have to know books.  To know books, I have to read them.  I began to recognize how important this was when I read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller two summers ago. (If you haven't read The Book Whisperer...what are you waiting for???)

3.  I want to be a reading role model for my students.   I want my students to know me as a reader and to know what I think about the books I've read.

4.  I've found an amazing network of teacher readers on Twitter and daily posts from the Nerdy Book Club. The tweets that have been going out about the #bookaday challenge and the Nerdy Book Awards have helped me stay connected and informed about the best in children's literature and what I need to read next.  They even inspired me to purchase this shirt:

6.  My TBR (To Be Read) pile of books was about to topple over....I had to start making the pile get shorter.  :)

I consider my time reading during break well spent.  On Monday, I will begin to share the tales of my reading adventures with my students.

I already have a student reader in mind for each of the books I read over break.

I can't wait....

No More Weekly Reading Logs

Judging from conversations going on in blogland and the Twitterverse, it seems like the topic of weekly reading logs is hot, hot, hot.  Some people love them, many people hate them, others want to get rid of them but either can't or don't know what else to use in order to hold students accountable for their reading.

I felt this way...for a long time.

So I kept sending home a weekly reading log and my students kept filling them out and returned them every Monday.  When I checked them over, these are a few of the things I noticed:

A student who read 50 pages in 20 minutes
A student who read the same (picture) book all week
A student who read a different (chapter) book every night

Oh my!

Can you relate?

There HAD to be a better way to monitor independent reading that kept students accountable and provided me important timely data.

There is!

It's called Status of the Class and it has saved my sanity this year.

Here's how it works...

Every morning after attendance, I call off students' names and they tell me the title of the book they read last night and what page they are on.  I keep a record on a chart like this:

I simply jot the title (or part of the title) and list the page number. I even developed a code to make things easier:

•  If it is the same book, I draw an arrow.  
• The "Q" means a student has finished a book and is ready to take an AR quiz.
• A box around a box (like at the very bottom of the picture) means that a student did not read enough pages the night before and we had a short conversation. 
• "No book" means the student forgot to bring a book home and didn't read
• "A" stands for book abandoned
• "Abs" means the student was absent that day

At first, Status of the Class took us about 10 minutes to get through.  Now, we're down to about four minutes because students yell out "Same book, page ___" when I call their name.  Super fast!!

How has Status of the Class helped ME as a teacher?

• I  realize the students who abandon books on a regular basis.
• I can recognize my students' book genre preferences and can guide them toward other genres.
• I can see who is really reading at night.  The students came up with the expectation that between 20 minutes of nightly reading and 30 minutes of daily DEAR time in class, they should be able to read 20-30 pages.  They now hold each other accountable for that too!
• I can make sure that students who have a habit of "forgetting" to bring home a book, don't.
• I can recognize my wild readers and give them immediate feedback.

Giving up the weekly reading log is one of the best teaching moves I've made this year!  If you are a member of the "I Really Dislike Reading Logs But Don't Know What Else to Try Club," I encourage you to give Status of the Class a try!

Thanks to Holly at Fourth Grade Flipper for hosting this weekly Tried It Tuesday linky party!

A Peek at My Week {9-14-14}

Thank you for stopping by A Peek at My Week.  I hope you are having a great weekend!

We are beginning our third week of school and things are going well!  My group is a little chatty this year, but we are working on that.  They are eager, sweet learners and I know we will do great things this year!

On Tuesday, we will take our reading MAP test.  I have been working to gather lots of data on my students (reading conferences, reading reflections, Star Reader, etc.) so the MAP test will add one more data point for me to use.

In math, we have been reviewing  place value and thanks to the amazing third grade teachers, most of my students "get it."  Last year, we began using Expressions math which really stresses the conceptual understanding of what students are learning.  This week, we will begin reviewing adding larger numbers.  Did you know there are FOUR different methods to add larger numbers?  I'm used to the "carry the one" method so this should be fun!

I'm excited to begin our first novel study in reading class, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  We will be using this awesome product from Lightbulb Minds.  (LOVE their products!)

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Wishing you an amazing week!

Peek at My Week {9-07-14}

I'm not sure where the past week has gone, but here it is Sunday again which means it's time for another Peek at My Week!

Last week was our first week of school so we spent it learning routines, building community, and getting to know each other.  This week, we will be getting down to business.

I'm really looking forward to writing this year.  Several students have mentioned to me how much they love to write and are eager to begin.  This week, we will begin learning about workshop routines and what it means to be a writer.  I found a great resource online that includes a scope and sequence for the year of writing from Portland Schools.  It is amazing!!  If you do not have a writing curriculum and feel like you need some guidance in teaching writing, this is a must see resource!

Source

Reading workshop will begin this week as well.  We will be reading lots of picture books to review the comprehension strategies and begin working on writing response.  It's always good to have mentor texts to demonstrate what is expected and I plan on using snippets from Spaghetti Book Club and This Kid Reviews Books. These two websites are book reviews written by kids, for kids.  Check them out!

We will also begin using my Word Parts We Know program this week to learn new prefix and suffix word parts.  Each week, students learn five new word parts, working to build their vocabulary up in a slow, but steady way.  I have had HUGE success with this program in the past.  Students vocabularies explode as they are able to decode and understand longer and more difficult words.  This has also helped on assessments such as the MAP test where many of these word parts appear.  I am excited to begin!

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Wishing you a wonderful week!

Reading Logs?

Hi everyone! I need your help.  

I am conflicted about my continued use of the weekly reading log.  (Actually, I've been conflicted for a long time.) Our 4th graders are required to read 20 minutes a night. In the past, I have given students a weekly form to record the title of their book and the number of pages read.  Then their parents sign the form and turn it in on Mondays, taking a new form for the upcoming week.

Problem...I KNOW that many of my students are not honest about the amount of reading they are doing at home and having their parents sign the form is reinforcing this lie.  (By 4th grade, many parents send their kids into another room to read and have no idea what is actually being completed so they are taking their child's word for it.)  Some kids are honest and turn in a blank form every Monday or simply don't turn one in at all. The 20 minutes of nightly reading is not getting done which is not helping my students become lifelong readers. I mean, wouldn't it be great if all of our students felt like this:

I need to find an alternative to the weekly reading log.  Something that will engage my students so they WANT to read every night and also hold them accountable.  We will be a 1:1 classroom next year, with every student having access to a Chromebook during the day and I was thinking something online might work.

Any ideas?

A Peek at My Week {6-01-14}

It's Sunday, which means it's time for another edition of A Peek at My Week, my weekly linky party where you can share what you've got going on this week.  Many of you are on summer vacation (lucky you!), but I still hope you will link up and share your plans for your week.  If nothing else, it gives those of us who are still in school hope that there is life on the other side of the last day of school.

Two more weeks...two more weeks....I can do this.

Last week, we finished reading Frindle.  The kids really loved this book and all of the crazy antics between Nick and Mrs. Granger.  It was an awesome end-of-the-year read.  This week, we are reading The Chocolate Touch.  (Chocolate is something that is near and dear to my heart.)  We began on Friday, and the students have already figured out that there is a connection between this story and mythology (King Midas and the Midas Touch.)

This is our last week for Writing class.  We are finishing up our "Seeing Both Sides" papers.  For this project, I asked students to choose from a list of "opinionated" topics (Students should go to school year-round, Kids should be allowed to have their phones at school, All students should be required to play an instrument, etc.) and to write about BOTH sides of each topic.  This took lots of modeling and practice because it's very difficult for 4th graders to see anybody else's point of view, but it was worth it.  We will be publishing our papers then having a publication party.

On Tuesday, the hubby and I will celebrate 19 years of wedded bliss!  Talk about time flying!

Looking ahead....I am super excited to be attending the All Write Summer Institute in Warsaw, IN on June 19-20.  There is a great line up of speakers - Donalyn Miller, Stephanie Harvey, Ruth Ayers, Colby Sharp, Franki Sibberson and my writing idol, Barry Lane.  I can't wait!!  Are you going???

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Have a great week!

A Peek at My Week {5-25-14}

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Memorial Day weekend seems to be the official kickoff to summer.  I can't wait!!  Let's take a peek at my upcoming week....

We still have three weeks of school left (but who's counting???)  The kids are pretty much "done" (if you know what I mean), so this is the time when I really have to pack the plans full of good stuff to keep 'em moving.

We are finishing up our novel study of Frindle, by Andrew Clements.  

I bought a class set of these books from Scholastic awhile back when they were $1 each.  (LOVE those deals!!)  This is a great end-of-the-year read because the characters in this book are in the 5th grade, which my students are getting ready for.  Nick is quite the character and my students can relate to him.  It's so funny to listen to their discussions about the choices he makes and some of the things he tries to pull on his teacher, Mrs. Granger.

In writing, we will be writing letters to next year's 4th graders.  We are working on opinion writing, so these letters will be my students' advice on how to prepare to be a 4th grader.  It's always so interesting to read what they think!

On Wednesday, we have our class list meeting.  This is where we sit with the teachers of our incoming students and tentatively choose a class.  The teachers talk about the strengths and areas of concern for each class, then we choose a class that we feel a connection with.  Honestly, there is so much growth and change that happens during the summer between 3rd and 4th grades that many of the concerns disappear and we start fresh in the fall.

On Thursday, we will be celebrating Wisconsin's birthday!  We have been working on a month-long research project called "Come Visit Wisconsin" and will finish up on Tuesday.  So on Thursday, we throw a birthday party of Wisconsin and sample all kinds of Wisconsin foods -- cheese curds, cranberries, Sprechter root beer, bratwurst.  The kids love it!!

That's it for this week!  I wish you a wonderful Memorial Day!  Please take a moment to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice to protect our wonderful country.

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