On February 9, our fantastic librarian Paulette Elliott treated the students in grades 2 – 6 that met their Accelerated Reader goals with a party.

How did the students meet their goal?

All students in grades 2-6 take a computer-based test at the beginning of the school year to determine their reading level.  (Some of the first graders start using Accelerated Reader later in the year.)  Once that level is determined, each student is assigned a color coded section of the library. When your child says they are “Green Up” or “Yellow Down” that is the reading level that the test has determined is the  an appropriate reading level for that student. Your child must read three books at that level and then pass an Accelerated Reader comprehension test on the computer before being moved up to the next level. This test makes sure that the students really understand what they’ve read.

Ms. Paulette takes each student’s test data, enters how many minutes of reading per day each student should do and gets a point goal that is individualized for each student. So, one student may have a goal of 50 points while a classmate may have a goal of 100.

Why can there be such a big difference between classmates?

The Accelerated Reader program has determined the optimal reading levels and amounts for each student. Every book has a point number that is earned when a student has finished a book and passed the comprehension test. The points and reading levels are entered and each student’s points are tracked on a chart in the library so they can see what they have to do to reach their goal.

The students that were able to participate in Thursday’s party all met or exceeded their reading goals for the 6 week period. In addition to lunch, the students also received balloons and were able to pick out a book to bring home.

Roosevelt and Henry Ford are the only two schools in the district that have Accelerated Reader and Ms. Paulette can be credited for bringing Accelerated Reader to both libraries.