Week 2 :
Death of AR and The Challenge of Hesitant Readers

     RIP Accelerated Reader. This year our school has discontinued the AR program. At first, I was a bit sad because this has been a constant for 16 years as a teacher. How was I going to know student reading levels? How was I going o "give" them a goal? What was going to happen.

    Well, first of all NO ONE was sad to see the point based program go, including the parents. The kids were breathing audible sighs of relief. It's gonna be ok. I just had to come up with ways to assess, challenges and keep track of student reading. 
1.) We have a reading calendar where students list how many minutes they read per day to build stamina.
2.) The students set specific yearly and weekly goals. 
3.) I have set up a schedule for individual reading conferences so I can have an authentic dialogue with each student.
4.) Students will respond in reading journal, on Whooo'sreading.com, or (when we get it set up) have the opportunity to share on Google Classroom.

Students are starting to think as readers about their likes, dislikes, and goals are. We are on an adventure together to capture the joy of reading for all.