[CALIBK12] AR Corrections

[Lewis, Catherine]

I take great exception to David's phrase "Literacy Home Town Buffet"
as a practitioner of Stephen Krashen's SSR idea.

For the past two years, I have team taught with several English
teachers, booktalking popular titles with the upperclassmen reading
below grade level.  This year we won a grant based on the improvement
those students made in CAHSEE test scores; besides great teaching,
what was the variable?  Students reading books that interested them,
students reading during SSR time in the classroom, and students
having regular conversations with me about books.  I have been a
vital part of the enterprise and do not feel "the role of
>the librarian is rather insignificant."  On the contrary, I have
developed relationships with students who were not regular library
patrons and they have become avid readers.

Besides a grant for new books, I have featured book reviews written
by these students in our display case and my library science students
have created web pages for those book reviews.

SSR does indeed work and my challenge has been providing a wealth of
materials to keep students reading!

Look on our website for Mr. Brickey and Ms. Tahsuda's book reviews to
see real students who have benefited from SSR and regular library
booktalks!

http://www.ouhsd.k12.ca.us/lmc/ohs/read/read.htm

Because I believe in the power of reading, collaboration, and
matching each student with a "homerun" book,
CM Lewis

---- Original Message ----
From: dabogardus at earthlink.net
To: calibk12 at listproc.sjsu.edu
Subject: [CALIBK12] AR Corrections
Date: Sun, 14 Dec 2008 09:06:36 -0800 (GMT-08:00)

>reposted from rejected address--
>I have been listening to Stephen Krashen for years tell us that
>reading incentive programs have little effect on student reading
>scores. "Students read better when they have unfettered access to
>books and they can read what they want." HOW this happens has been
>not well defined, and when attempts are made, it seems the role of
>the librarian is rather insignificant. Often it seems, we are being
>told to get out of the way and just fill orders as if we worked at a
>Literacy Home Town Buffet.
> 
>I would have to write an entire paper on what we have seen in our
>District as we rolled out Accelerated Reader Enterprise Edition; and
>I can't blame anyone who was caught in the reading incentive "Points
>for Pencils" literacy movement, I would suggest it may be because you
>lifted the lid and looked in the trunk instead of the engine. 
> 
>We are using AR as a reading comprehension program, so that when a
>student finds a book they want to read, they know they are working on
>understanding what they are enjoying and because they know the book
>level, they know how much they will be challenged. (This may solve
>some of the unfinished books talked about earlier.) Teachers and
>librarians are encouraged to model good comprehension strategies
>during read alouds and throughout the year, students are asked to do
>their very best on each test. This makes AR perfect for Reaching and
>Teaching every student. It is also a perfect model to help coach
>students to better and broader reading. In AR, we sent goals just
>like a coach, based on Accuracy, Frequency, and Difficulty. If you
>have a tool that does this any better, I would love to see it in
>action!
> 
>This is not a time in California to operate our libraries with the
>"Business as Usual" model. California students do not have their
>school library on speed dial. We can not just open the doors and hope
>they will come and check out all of our wonderful titles. Just
>compare your computer use to your book circulation if you find this
>hard to believe. 
> 
>With Reading Practice integrated into our Reading Instruction, our
>District's goal is to use AR as one tool to get our schools out of
>Program Improvement and so far, based on the enthusiasm from our
>students, teachers, and administrators, and our fidelity to the
>program, we are well on the way. 
> 
>David Bogardus
>Teacher Specialist-Instructional Materials
>Pomona Unified School District 
> 
>
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Catherine M. Lewis
catherine.lewis at ouhsd.k12.ca.us
Teacher Librarian
Oxnard High School
(805) 278-3030

"Putting a computer in front of a child and expecting it to teach him
is like putting a book under his pillow, only more expensive."