Accelerated Reader

Changes to Reading at Madinat Khalifa Primary

Reading is one of the most important skills your child will learn at school and is an integral component across all subjects. Whether children are researching in History or learning new concepts in Science it’s absolutely essential that they can read. However, it’s important to realise that being able to read the words on a page doesn’t necessarily mean that a child understands the text. 

You may have noticed recently that your child is not only reading their home reader but also taking an online quiz on their storybook and library books. This is possible through the use of Accelerated Reader, an online platform that offers structured monitoring of student’s reading progress and reading habits. At Compass Madinat Khalifa our students from Year 2 to Year 6 will now complete an AR comprehension quiz after they read their home reader and library book which will provide personal feedback on their reading progress. This year Accelerated Reader (AR) will enable us to continue to drive our message of how important reading is, and the importance of comprehension.

Teachers and Learning Assistants will use Accelerated Reader to challenge and motivate children and ensure they are progressing with their comprehension skills. Students have been assessed through the AR programme and have now been assigned a reading shelf which places them at a level of challenge known as their ‘Zone of Proximal Development’. To ensure maximum success and impact of AR we have overhauled the existing reading scheme structure in order to match all our reading books to the Accelerated Reader book banding system. This will ensure the complexity of the book matches up with the student’s ability level. The children are still choosing and reading books which interest them but we can now also ensure these texts are accessible for them.

The expected target pass rate for each quiz is 85% and children must strive to reach and exceed this pass rate. One of the best features of AR is the ability to score points based on the number of correct answers given. This allows us to track achievements across the school and we will soon be celebrating children who score the most AR points in a month, the best class at taking quizzes and we are even going to see which house can score the highest points on their AR quizzes. Accelerated Reader genuinely encourages children to read, while enabling teachers to keep an eye on their progress.

Remember that although they are an important aid to learning, reading does not stop with school books. Children should read their favourite books that they have at home too. There are over a million books in the online AR library so students should search for any book they have read and see if they can do a quiz to score additional points. It is most important that parents encourage their child to read every day for approximately 20 minutes and support and complement the learning at school by reminding their child to take the AR quiz. Ongoing reading practice leads to improvement in all areas of literacy so it is essential children are engaged with reading both in school and at home from a young age and reading becomes part of their daily routine.

If you have questions about the changes to our reading systems or using Accelerated Reader please contact your child’s class teacher.

Mrs. Ann Firth
Leader of Learning for English
Madinat Khalifa Campus