Life After Accelerated Reader

Those of you who know me or have read my blog for awhile, know that I have a strong disdain for Accelerated Reader. I teach in an AR district, but thankfully, I am not forced to use it. Sadly, it is not like that for everyone in my district. I know we have teachers who do not like using AR in their classroom, yet we also have teachers who would struggle without it.

I recently had a conversation with a teacher who knows my opinions and knows that I have been successful without using AR.  She asked me what would be the first things I would do. My first response was that I would buy every teacher a copy of The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller.

I fear that many of our teachers would struggle if we discontinue AR because we have used it for so long, and they do not know anything different.  I am sure many teachers, not only those in my district, have this same fear.  I am proof that there is life after Accelerated Reader.

If you know teachers who use AR and are afraid they can't teach without it, then send them a link to this post.  Let this post be their life preserver; give them something to hang on to and let it buoy up their strength to make the decision that is best for readers.

Is there life out there?

You have to believe that a reading community can and will exist without AR. You not only have to believe it, but you have to live it.  Is it easy? No. One of the positives (if there truly is one) of AR is the ease in its implementation and the little work it places on teachers.

Easy is not always best for our students. 
(click to tweet)

To believe in this new path, you need support.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Read The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller or other books, articles or websites that support reading communities.  This is where you will read real stories about real teachers who have been in your shoes and have broken the chains of AR.  
• Know the research.  Donalyn Miller has a great blog post with links to research. When someone questions your practices, you must be knowledgeable and you must be confident. You must know that research supports that giving students time to read and access to books is connected to reading achievement. Reading achievement is not connected to answering multiple choice questions after reading a book. 
• Find your tribe.  I always thought I was the only one in my district who did not like AR. I learned that I was not alone, but many were afraid to take that stance for fear of backlash from other teachers or administrators. Becoming a connected educator through blogging and Twitter and attending literacy conferences made me realize that I am not alone.  Other people who believe in the same things as I do really do exist.

Where do I start?

The biggest obstacle for any teacher wanting to build a reading community without AR is knowing where to start.  If you ask teachers this question, you may get different answers, but many would include these five steps:

1. Live a literate life.  Would you send your child to swim lessons with an instructor who never gets in the water?  Of course not.  So, why should our students have teachers who do not read? Being knowledgeable and excited about the books in your library is one of the best ways to motive kids to read.  Create a display of the books you have read. Have conversations about books with your students. Hand them a book and say, "I thought about you when I read this."  Building this connection with your students shows them that you are a reader.
2. Plan regular book talks.  Make it a point to talk about a book(s) each and every day. After I do a book talk, my students can't wait to read it.  Many times, I have to have a drawing to see who gets it first. When I intentionally write book talks in my plans, I tend to do them more. It becomes part of my day.
3. Build your classroom library.  Having access to books has a positive impact on student engagement.  If we want kids to read, they must have a quick and easy way to get books in their hands. Having access to books makes it easier for us as teachers to match kids with books.  And this is one of the most important jobs of being a reading teacher. 
4. Make reading its own reward. Tangible rewards do not work.  Having students earn points and using them as motivation may be a quick fix for a grading period, but it does not create lifelong readers. And that should be our ultimate goal. I know teachers who punish students for bad behavior or for not making their AR goal by keeping them in for recess and making them read.  This is wrong. This is teaching malpractice. As Donalyn Miller says,
   
   
   "When we communicate to children that the only reason to read is to earn a reward or grade, we fail to impart reading's true value. 
   Reading is its own reward, and it bestows immeasurable gifts on readers."
   
   
5. Find value in all reading.  This will be one of the hardest actions for an AR teacher to do because many are used to handing kids their ZPD and monitoring these levels. But let them read. If they want to read a graphic novel, let them read.  If they want to read a magazine, let them read. If they want to read a book that is too hard or too easy, let them read. With your professional knowledge as a teacher, you will guide them to find books that interest them and that they are capable of reading. To paraphrase Donalyn Miller, find value in all reading and let them know that all readers in your classroom are valuable.

Eliminating Accelerated Reader from your classroom and building a true reading community takes time and takes a lot of work. You must trust that your readers will read, and they must trust you to create an environment that nurtures a reading life.

When you have a true reading community, trust is the glue that holds it together.
(click to tweet)

Yes, there is life after AR. Be brave enough to seek it and find comfort in knowing you are not alone.

Singing a New Song

I know with many of my posts I am just preaching to the choir because many of my readers and I share the same beliefs.  This post is no different.  As Donalyn  Miller often says, "You preach to the choir because you want the choir to be loud."

But what about those teachers who do not know how to sing?

Last year I was having a conversation with an elementary teacher about independent reading in my classroom.  I teach in a district that uses Accelerated Reader, but she knows I do not like the program.  She asked me "If you don't do AR, how do you get kids to read?"

That's when I realized this teacher is one of those who did not know how to sing. Sadly, I think many more are just like her.  They have become so dependent on a program, they no longer remember "the words" or maybe even have a voice.

Today I am answering that question with a simplistic, yet multi-faceted answer.

By living a literate life.

1. I read the books my students read so I am better prepared to recommend titles to them.  Building reading relationships with students is built upon my knowledge of books.  Throughout the school year, our relationships move from teacher to student, to reader to reader.  They trust me to give them suggestions, and they trust our conversations.
2. I share my reading life.  I set a yearlong challenge for myself, and they see when I struggle with a book or struggle to find time to read.  Students get to know my preferences, and they know when I laugh, when I cry and when I abandon a book.
3. I have a well-stocked classroom library where books are within the reach of my students.  School libraries are essential to developing a reading culture, but quickly handing and suggesting books to students "in the moment" is even more important.  
4. I talk about books.  I talk about the books I am reading, I talk about the books they are reading, and they talk about the books they are reading.  Reading is a social activity, and it deserves a place at the discussion table.
5. I value independent reading.  I give my students time each day in class to read books of their choice.  I have 48 minute periods, but those 10 minutes we read have become nonnegotiable  I have this quote by Donalyn Miller posted outside my room.

A place where "all readers are valued

and all reading is valuable." 

It is not a program that creates readers.  It is the teacher who lives a literate life.  This past year my 100 students, which is one half of a grade level, read over 2,400 books. We read more books than each of the 7th or 8th grade classes.  We did it without a program.  

Because I know I am preaching to the choir, my goal is for you to share this with a teacher who has forgotten how to sing.  Teach them the words to a new song, so our choir can lift our voices for everyone to hear.

Our students deserve it.

Research Inside My Own Classroom

For the past two weeks, I have been reading research on a much debated subject among educators - Accelerated Reader, also known as AR.  I have read page after page of research, blog posts, and articles.  I even stayed up until 1:00 on a school night immersing myself in this topic.

Why?  I am very much against AR for many reasons, but I want to have conversations with the teachers who support it and the decision makers in my school district. Thanks to Pernille Ripp and Donalyn Miller and their session at Nerdcamp in Michigan last summer, I have requested an opportunity to open the discussion about AR.  I want to be prepared with research to back up my beliefs.  I want to have counterpoints to their points.  My mission is to protect the love of reading in my classroom, and I cannot just talk from my heart.

But sometimes I reach a point where I start doubting my beliefs.  I start asking, "Are they right?  Am I wrong?"

This week I had three incidents in my classroom that helped me put those thoughts back into perspective.

Incident One

One of my students finished reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone this week. He came into my class complaining because he could not take an AR test on it and wanted to know why.  I explained to him that he could not take a test on a book he has already read.  He said he had not read the book "this year."

When I explained to him that the books he read in elementary school follow him to the middle school, he replied, "You mean I read that book for nothing?"

I said, "Did you enjoy the book?"

He nodded his head yes, and I replied, "That is what matters the most."

Incident Two

A co-worker's third grade daughter came into school proudly announcing, "I met my AR goal and made the 100 point club today, and now I don't have to read anymore."

My heart sank.  I know she is a reader because I share books from my classroom library with her, and I know she will continue to read.  But this attitude towards reading is prevalent in so many of our students.

Incident Three

Last week I started book clubs with my students, and today was our first Discussion Day.  In one of my classes, we discussed what worked and what didn't work.  One student who has become a reader this year said, "We talked about the book and asked questions about the confusing parts.  It was fun!"

I stopped him right there and told him that he had just made my day.  That is what reading is all about.  No points, no incentives, no tests...just reading for fun.

Maybe I should stop reading the research.  Maybe I should pay more attention to the research right inside my own classroom.

Living in a World of Don't-Believe

As teachers we are asked to deal with or accept many educational issues in which we may not believe.  For example, Common Core Standards, merit pay, charter schools, or teacher evaluations just to name a few.

For me, one of those issues is Accelerated Reader.  I know many posts and articles have been written about AR, and I probably do not have anything new to add.  I work in a corporation where many teachers wholeheartedly accept and embrace AR.  I am not one those teachers.  Instead, I have learned how to live in a world of don't-believe by adapting my beliefs and what I know is best practice into a classroom that supports students as lifelong readers.

I have had several conversations with administrators and teachers where we debated our views.  Most of them support AR because they say it worked in their classrooms. I think it is important to clearly define the meaning of "worked."

If it means that students read for a nine week grading period four times a year, then I would say yes, it probably "worked" in their classroom.  If it means that their students were what I call "binge readers" where they read a lot in the last few days of the grading period just to make their goal, then I would say yes, it probably "worked."

But that is not my definition of what works in my classroom.  I want my students to be lifelong readers, not just readers for 36 weeks.  I want my readers to continue to grab a book after the gold stars are up, the pizza is eaten and the prizes are won.

I want my readers to get lost in books all year long.  I want them to develop empathy for people who are less fortunate than them.  I want books to connect who they are to who they want to become.  I want them to learn life lessons and develop into people who care about others and the world in which we live.  I want them to become friends with the characters and dread reaching the end of the story.

One teacher told me how she loved talking about the books after her students took a test, and how she recommended new books or genres to them.  She was thrilled when students' reading took off.  She believes if it wasn't for AR, that would have never happened.  It was not AR that did that.  It was the relationships she built with her students.  It was about having a reading relationship with them and talking about books.

Building reading relationships with students and developing lifelong readers does not happen because students read a book and take a test.  I believe this happens because of choice, time, and talk.

Choice

Research shows that when students have the opportunity to self-select books, their time spent reading, their motivation, and their comprehension increases.  Because of this, my students chose their books.  I do not hold my students to their ZPD or zone of proximate development, determined by the AR program.  If a student is reading a series and one of the books does not fall in his or her ZPD, of course he or she can read it.  I do not penalize students for reading outside of their levels because I would not like to be told I couldn't finish a series because "it wasn't in my level."

I also do not force students to "challenge" themselves by reading in the upper levels of their ZPD. Independent reading should be for enjoyment.  Students will be engaged readers when they enjoy what they are reading and when they get the opportunity to chose the book.

The way AR levels books does not make sense to me.  Here is why.  According to AR levels, this book and all of the books in this series

ATOS reading level 5.2

 are at a higher level than this book.

ATOS reading level 4.8

I have a hard time believing that The Diary of a Wimpy Kid is more challenging than Divergent, nor do I believe that a 4th or 5th grade student needs to be reading Divergent.  I will only use these as guides because clearly something is wrong with the system.

I wrote a post here about a document written by Renaissance Learning about reading levels and what students are reading.  After reading this document, I still had many unanswered questions about student choice.

Time

Research shows that students who read more perform better on reading achievement tests.  Giving students time to read during the school day is vital, but becomes much more difficult at the middle school level because I only have 48 minutes with them.  I believe in putting time into what I value, but I was not living that in my classroom at the beginning of the year.  I was more focused on teaching standards and making sure all of my standards were taught in the designated time period.

If I want my students to see that I value reading and that independent reading is important, then I need to make time for them to read.  This is especially true at the middle school level when extra curricular activities begin to play an important role in their lives.

For the past six weeks, I have started each class with 10 minutes of reading time every day.  This has become a non-negotiable for me.  Spending time teaching standards is not going to matter if my students are not able to read grade-level text and have not built up the stamina to sustain reading during an assessment.

Talk

Reading is a social activity, and students need time to talk about the books they read.  They need to talk to each other and share their reading experiences before, during and after reading a book.  There is no better motivation than to read a book a friend or a teacher has just recommended.  When I finish a book, I typically want to talk to my friends or family members about it.  Social media has become my outlet and the perfect place for talking about books.  I have also brought social media to my students.  We try to tweet about books and blog about them to build up the excitement.  Just last week students "shopped" for books after I purchased a huge stack at the Scholastic Warehouse sale.  Monday we will have our first drawing to see who gets to be the first reader of the new titles.

I love the conversations I have with my students about books.  I love sharing my latest read with them, and how I stayed up late finishing the last few pages.  Students ask me how can I remember what everyone is reading.  My answer is simple.  What they read matters to me.  Points, tests and levels do not.

No, this is not a perfect world, and for me, it is certainly a world of don't-believe.  I am a rule-follower and a people pleaser, so I will continue to do as I am told...for now.  Our contract with Renaissance learning is up in 2017, and I will continue to share research with teachers and administrators.  But until then, I will hold on to my beliefs, and I will continue to build reading relationships and to develop lifelong readers.

Never underestimate the power of a great book 

in the hands of a teacher who knows how to use it. -- Steven L. Layne 

What Kids Are Reading - Questioning the Data

I have been working on a post about Accelerated Reader.  It was not planned as a post criticizing AR, but rather my thoughts as a teacher surviving in a school which incorporates AR into their reading program.  Yesterday I came across a tweet about a post on the Renaissance Learning blog.  My AR post will have to wait because this one needs to be written first.

Renaissance Learning published the 2015 edition of "What Kids Are Reading and Why It Matters."  If you have not seen this, then I encourage you to look at it quickly before reading more. The beginning of the document explains how reading skill acquisition is closely related to daily practice and reading volume.  I don't think any teacher would argue with that point.  

But as I read more, a red flag went up because this data comes only from students who use AR.  I find this interesting.

 Mining data on daily independent reading practice and achievement from millions of students who use Accelerated Reader allows us to address important questions about independent reading practice, including what makes it so vital for helping children become successful readers.

According to their own research, there are three variables to independent reading which influence reading growth: comprehension, volume, and challenge.  I would agree with this.  They also state:

When we examine less skilled or struggling readers, we see that those who read a lot of appropriately challenging books at high comprehension tended to experience accelerated growth throughout the school year and thus close gaps. (Bold print is my emphasis.)

What they call challenging text is one part of their research which concerns me.  I believe in challenging my students, but how does one define challenging text?   How do we decide which books are appropriately challenging?  Do we go by AR reading levels?  Do we go by the number of points assigned to a book, or do we go by professional judgement?

It is my understanding that AR defines challenge by ZPD or a range of recommended reading levels for students.  According to the reports from AR that I use in my classroom, a student's ZPD ranges below and slightly above the grade equivalency.  For example, I have a student at a 6.2 grade equivalency, but her ZPD is 4.1 to 6.3.  How does this play into appropriately challenging text?  Is the majority of challenging text below their grade equivalency?  Do we take into consideration the maturity level of the student when determining challenging text?

This report also includes a "bona fide list of popular books kids are reading by grade and gender."  As I read this, I remembered this data was coming only from the students who use the AR program and who took a test.  It does not include non AR readers or readers who chose the book simply for enjoyment.  Yes, the red flag was waving.

I moved down to the top 25 most popular books by grade level.  Since I teach 6th grade, I went to that list first.  It was no surprise that several books from The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series were on the list as well as Harry Potter, because those books are popular in my classroom too.

I then began looking at the AR reading levels.  They say that challenge is important to reading growth, but not one book on the list was above 5.7 for 6th grade.  I am not saying those books are not challenging for my students, because many of them are.  I am just questioning the data and find it interesting.

I believe independent reading should be for enjoyment first and foremost.  Because of this, my students are not strictly tied to reading levels.  I only use them as guidelines and not requirements.

According to AR levels, this book and all of the books in this series

ATOS reading level 5.2

 are at a higher level than this book.

ATOS reading level 4.8

That is why I don't pay much attention to their book levels.  Again, I am only questioning their data and their definition of challenging books.

Looking at the high school average book levels, two things from the report puzzled me.  One was the average book levels for each high school grade.

9th grade - 5.5
10th grade - 5.6
11th grade - 5.6
12 grade - 6.7

Again, they say challenge is important, but all of these average book levels are well below grade level.  The only reason why the 12th grade was so high was because it included Frankenstein, Hamlet, and Macbeth which are all above 10.9.  I don't focus solely on book levels, but this data raises many questions about their claim that challenge is important.

This leads me to the second part of this data which puzzles me.  Several classic books made the top 25 on the most popular lists for high school.  To me, popular means the books kids want to read.  I had to ask myself, how many of these classics were assigned reading and students had to take the AR test.  If you think about how many high schools read these as assigned texts, then of course they are going to show up on the most popular list. That does not mean students chose them or enjoyed reading them.  It simply means they took the test.

I know AR is a controversial subject, and many do not agree with me.  I am OK with that.  I respect all opinions, but this report should prompt valuable and much needed conversations among teachers who use AR and should also cause teachers to ask questions about the data put out by Renaissance Learning.

My next post will be about surviving in the AR world.  In the meantime, happy reading!

SOLSC #4 - False Sense of Security

Thank you TWO WRITING TEACHERS
for encouraging me to write everyday!

Last week I had an interesting conversation with my students.  The topic was AR.  (For those of you unfamiliar with Accelerated Reading, it is a computerized testing program for independent reading.)

During the conversation, I said these words which I fear will come back to haunt me someday...

"I do not care about AR."  

There were many gasps followed by complete silence.

Because we are an AR school corporation, (and because I don't want to lose my job!) I feel like I have to support it in some way.  Here is my "spin" on it.

I explained to them (again!) that the one thing I like about AR is the goal setting, because that is a life skill.  Throughout our lives, we set goals and create a plan to reach them.  They not only need to learn to make a plan, but also to learn how to change the plan when they are not successful. Although we set other reading goals during the year, I feel this is the one way I can support AR.

Then the conversation moved to why I don't like AR.  I wanted to think carefully before I answered.  I could have chosen any of these:

• extrinsic rewards don't work
• book choices are limited
• competition is created among students
• students can be turned off to independent reading

But the real reason is that it gives them a false sense of security.

Most of these students have been "programmed" to be AR robots since first grade and in some cases by the end of kindergarten.  They have become products of robot reading:  read a book - take a test - repeat until you no longer enjoy reading.

They know they need to correctly answer 85% of the questions on the test.  When they score 85%, they "think" they have comprehended the book.  Here lies that false sense of security.  They have no realization or understanding of the deeper meanings that are hidden in the books they are reading independently.  

Our current read-aloud is One For The Murphys by Linda Mullaly Hunt.  Many of them will probably get most of the AR questions correct, but did they really comprehend it?  

Did they understand the significance of the sign, "Be Someone's Hero?"  Could they explain how Carley changed from the beginning of the story to the end?  Can they state if they agree or disagree with the ending?  Did they understand the way the author used flashback to tell about Carley's abuse?  Did they infer the message the author wanted to leave with us?

Books deserve reflection and discussion, not low level test questions.

After our AR awards for the second grading period, my principal asked me what we could do to motivate our kids for AR?  He knows how I feel about this, so I looked at him and said, "You are asking the wrong person."

I have been working on an answer for him, but that is another post!

A Slice of Life - My Classroom Library

The middle of July brings with it thoughts of a new school year and teachers heading back to their classrooms in preparation for a new class of students.   I spent several mornings last week cleaning, unpacking, and trying to get my room back together.  

The area of my room which ALWAYS gets my attention first, is my classroom library.  It is my absolute favorite part of my room, and I believe it is a direct reflection of me and what I believe in. When someone walks into my classroom, I want them to think, "reading is important in this room."

The past four years I have arranged my room so that the library is like a little room within my classroom.  It is a secluded area, and the students love to go in and lay on the floor with pillows and read.  When the students arrive on the first day of school, the library is blocked off, so they can't go in or even see in.  They all want to know what is in there...creates quite a mysterious effect.   I always tell them it is a very special place, and some day soon they will be able to go in.  A couple of days later, we have a library grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.  I give them bookmarks and pencils and together as a class, we have our first reading celebration.

This year due to the high number of students in my class, I have had to open up the library to allow more room.  At first I did not care for the new arrangement, but I am starting to see the possibilities.  It now houses my gathering spot for minilessons and what better place than my library!

The past couple of years I have also made some changes on how I organize my books.  We are an Accelerated Reader corporation and most teachers have their books arranged by book levels.  I am not a fan of AR and quietly express this to my students, parents and other teachers.  I think there are many other ways to get kids to read - but that is another post!

Trying not to rock the boat but still hold fast to my beliefs, I started organizing my books by different categories.  I pulled out the most popular series, favorite authors, Mrs. Eck's picks, and new books and created separate baskets for those, while leaving most books still organized by AR levels.  This worked well and only solidified my belief that kids need to know how to choose books arranged as if they were in a bookstore, not by AR level.

This year I have decided to organize some new baskets according to genre.  As I was perusing the baskets and pulling out books, I started thinking about how these new baskets could be used with my genre lessons while creating a learning experience for my students.  I am thinking about letting my students do the organizing as they are reading.  After a student reads a book and uses what he/she has learned about genre, they can decide where the book belongs.

As of right now, the baskets are empty, waiting for books that my students will read.  What do you think?  Do I dare continue decreasing baskets of AR book levels and creating more authentic organization, or do I keep it in AR levels like most other teachers.  I would love to hear your thoughts and how your classroom libraries are organized.

Have a great week!

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