Spark Student Motivation -- Word Count Wizards

I'm linking up today with the very fun (and funny!) Joanne from Head Over Heels for Teaching for her linky, Spark Student Motivation.

I think we can all use a little motivation this time of year -- especially our students!

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that our school uses the Accelerated Reader system to monitor independent reading.  I think AR is a good way to keep track of student reading and to make sure students are understanding what they read.  If their TOPS report (the score of their AR quiz) comes back with low scores for comprehension, it's definitely time to get together with that student for some extra conferencing.

The AR system is set up for students to earn a certain number of "points" in a given time period.  (Each book is assigned a point level and when students take a quiz on a book, they earn a proportional number of points based on their score.)  This is one of the things that I do not like about AR.  When students read, they get fixated on earning "points."  Points do not make someone a better reader...To become a better reader, you need to read a lot, so I feel tracking Word Count Totals is a better way to go.

Source:  https://scontent-a-ams.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1463981_747384378608347_1055542707_n.jpg

Each week, I publish a "Word Count Wizards" list that shares the top five readers in our classroom based on their Word Count total as measured by AR.  Seeing their name on the list (or wanting their name on the list) is incredibly motivating!  

Then every month, the 4th grade teachers host a pizza lunch for the top two Word Count Wizards in our classrooms.  We gather together to eat pizza, chips and cookies. (Unhealthy, I know, but also motivating for some students who want to enjoy junk food at school).

This past Thursday, we hosted our pizza lunch for November's winners.  Both of the students from my class read over 200,000 words each in November.  (Impressive, since many students' word count goal is about 150,000 words for the quarter!)

Word Count Wizards is a great way to get students reading MORE!  They love seeing those numbers go up, especially toward the end of the quarter when their numbers can get pretty high.  I don't doubt that by the end of this year, many of my students will have read over a million words!  WOW!!!

I'm headed over to Joanne's blog to see what other inspirations await!  Meet me there!!

(But before you go, don't forget to come back Sunday to link up and share a Peek at My Week -- my weekly linky party where you can share the highlights of your upcoming week.  There's plenty of motivation here as well!  :)

Have a great Saturday!

Workshop Wednesday -- Reading Group Organization

I believe that it is safe to say that spring is almost here in southeastern Wisconsin. (My son was in northern Wisconsin this weekend and they still had several inches of snow....Ughhhh!!!)   Look what was peeking up at me today when I got home from school...

 

 

 

 



You may notice that the ground around these little cuties is soaking wet.  That's because it's been raining here pretty much non-stop since Monday night.  I think I even saw some animals starting to pair up in anticipation of the ark that is soon to arrive!  :)

I'm linking up again with Jivey this week for her Workshop Wednesday.  Last week was my first week, and I got so many awesome ideas from her linky that I just had to come back!

 

 

This week's topic is about tools we use to organize and keep track of our reading groups.  After reading through her post, I knew exactly what I wanted to write about!  I have tried keeping written anecdotal records,  yet always seem to miss something because I can't write as fast as my mind races sometimes.  So this year, I have brought my iPad into the classroom and use the Confer app to group my students and take anecdotal records.

 

I really feel that it has kept me organized with my record keeping and helps me put students together for reading, writing, and math groups.  Plus, when it's time to prepare report card comments, I have everything right in one place! 

I can input records for different subjects throughout my day.

Inside each subject, I can keep track of when I meet with students for instruction or intervention, note what was taught, and add ideas for next time.



I can also review past notes for each student to see trends.

 

These notes can be shared between my iPad and iPhone and I can download the data into a Google doc if I wanted to share it with another teacher or specialist.  (Thanks to the iTunes Store for these screenshots.)  This record keeping system also works great with Daily 5.

If you decide to give Confer a try, let me know what you think!