[MOSAIC] Question for the group

[Laura Cannon]

I think AR should always be about meeting individual goals--and different
readers have different goals.  Success comes when you meet your own
goal--and if there's pizza or sundaes or whatever you get it if you met your
goal--not the same points, books etc. as others in the class.

-----Original Message-----
From: mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org
[mailto:mosaic-bounces at literacyworkshop.org] On Behalf Of skosmoski at aol.com
Sent: Sunday, October 08, 2006 2:33 PM
To: bpunchak at verizon.net; mosaic at literacyworkshop.org
Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Question for the group


Good Afternoon--
I have to start by saying that I am not an AR fan. I think it is just 
like the matthew effect--those who can do and those who struggle do 
not! But, since I have been in several schools that have mandated its 
use--there are things you can do to make it palatable!

My kids truly believed that every book was an AR book. Many teachers do 
not realize that every AR disc comes with blank tests that can be 
written by the teacher (or the students) and entered into the computer 
by the teacher for everyone in the school to take. this takes some 
work, but at the end of the first year my seventh grade struggling 
readers had written 50 tests and we edited them and put them in the 
computer together. I had to be very nice to my media specialist and she 
gave her blessing to each and every test the kids wrote--but that way, 
I did not have to restrict their reading to a certain selection of 
books.

Most of my students were reading between the third and fifth grade 
level. Do you realize how many books are written (or not written) on a 
third or fourth grade level that interest seventh graders? Not many. 
So, we did away with the AR reading level and I ransacked the public 
libraries for books-on-tape and purchased even more with grant funds. 
We were able to make more texts accessible to them. Also, the typical 
third grade level book is worth about 3 AR points. The typical 7th 
grade level book checks in at 8-10--so my struggling readers would have 
had to read 3X as many books as their peers just to keep up. Well there 
was not a prayer!

I was able to get my media specialist to set a goal and instead of 
plastic prizes we had a make your own sundae party for all of the kids 
who met their individual goals. The teachers set the goals with the 
kids. there was lots and lots of conversations about this. The idea we 
decided was to be inclusive instead of exclusive and to trust each 
other. There was never a question in four years about what kids went to 
the party!

As an administrator I would never force any school into a program like 
AR. It is just not for everyone!
Like Alphie Kohn says about the Pizza Hut Book it program is our kids 
who read alot get pizza and get fat! Our kids who don't read 
much--still don't read much!
Mary Anne
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