Facts & Questions for Parents Accelerated Reader Program 1 How does the ar program work?

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a program used at all grade levels in the school district to take earn points by testing on books they have read. Kindergarten students achieving a total of 5 points will receive a Ready Reader Certification. Students may use their points to purchase prizes from the Kindergarten AR store and participate in a special treat at the end of the year.

All students are allowed to participate. Progress is based on an individual basis, and students read books at their own pace.

Your child should read a book that is on the AR list. Ask your child to read the book to you 6 times before taking the quiz. Your child might have an AR log to keep track of books read, amount of times read, and grades of tests.

   As soon as your child has read the book 6 times, he/she will be able to test. Based on the availability of the computers, it may take some time. Your student should continue to read the same book until a computer is available for testing. Practice makes perfect!

No. The school pays for a license to run the program and students only take the tests at school between the hours of 7:30 am and 3:00 pm. The program is designed to help the child learn to comprehend what is read; it is important for the child to take the tests independently.

At the end of the test, your child will get feedback on how many questions s/he answered correctly. If there is an incorrect answer, the child sees the question, the wrong answer, and the correct answer. I will provide information for you to see how your child is doing.

No, teachers do not have access to this information once the child has completed the test, but a list of generic comprehension questions will be sent home for parents to ask their students.

No. A child can only take a test on a given book one time.

Here is a website that can help you find books that are on the AR list: arbookfind.com

-      Click on the link above.

-      Click on “parent.”

-      Select the “Advanced Search” tab at the top.

-      If you have a specific title or author, type that in the appropriate place to check and see if the book is on the AR list and what level it is.

-      If you want some book ideas, go to the middle of the box and select as follows:

Interest Level: Lower Grades (LG K-3)

Then type in the level for the book list you would like to review in the space marked “ATOS Book Level.”
The “code” for the level is .1 for each month of a grade. For example, .5 is the 5^th month of Kindergarten. 1.5 is the 5^th month of 1^st grade. So if you wanted to see a list of AR books that ranged in level between the 5^th month of Kindergarten and the 5^th month of 1^st grade, you would type in .5 through 1.5.

-      You can also select a topic of interest to narrow the list.

  11) Where can I get AR books?

Some of the books you have at home are probably on the AR list. Students will also be checking out AR books from the library.

13) What is a red dot book?

Red dot books are kindergarten level books ranging from 0.3 to 0.9. Students should be able to read these books on their own.

Red dot books should be read by the student. If the student is not ready to read books on their own, they may still be able to participate in the program by practicing listening comprehension skills. It is recommended that parents read second grade level picture books for listening comprehension.

  15) Do you have any recommendations?

   The most important thing is to find books that interest your child so they can easily remember what is read. HOWEVER, I recommend using books that have an auditory quiz. When you look at the books, look at “AR Quiz Types” and select books that show “RV” (Recorded Voice). This means that the test questions are read to the child. Since some of the vocabulary in the questions is higher than what is in the story, using the recorded voice prevents them from getting stuck on reading the question.