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The following value added training sessions cater for schools that are already familiar with Accelerated Reader, but wish to consolidate or further their implementation of the program.
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Annual Performance Review
As part of your renewal of AR you will be shown how to effectively employ the wealth of data available through Renaissance Place to determine the best approach for improving results and overall standards of reading amongst pupils of all ages and abilities. This session starts with an in-depth review of your Dashboard; looking at the quality and quantity of reading practice taking place and measure it against goals that have been proven in various research studies. The next step will be to analyse reports and identify pupils that are struggling. We will then agree with you on classroom Best Practices that need to be put in place in order to improve results.
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Maintaining the Momentum of Accelerated Reader
Once your school is up and running with AR and your teaching staff are comfortable with the basics, it is time to look at what else the program can do. We will explore different motivational methods and help you create healthy competition with the introduction of teams and targets, as well as using a variety of individual target-setting methods. Your Implementation Specialist will also introduce you to various tactics and projects that have been successful in other schools.
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Monitoring Whole School Progress through Consolidated Reports
Senior Management often requires a summary of how the school is progressing with AR. Although the Diagnostic Report offers this information, the Consolidated Reports give an overview of your whole school performance. At a glance, you can compare progress between up to seven reporting periods, or status over a period of time. There are six reports, including a School-to-Home report which compares individual pupils to the rest of their class and year. The reports can be customised to offer value added and a brief summary of AR use and success in your school. By the end of this session you will know how to construct, interpret and analyse Consolidated Reports.
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Duolog/Paired Reading
Developed by Professor Keith Topping at Dundee University and used by schools worldwide, this simple technique has proved to be highly effective in helping struggling readers. Your Implementation Specialist will guide you on how to use this paired-reading technique with “Book Buddies” for “Read With” practice that helps improve the reading comprehension of even the most struggling pupils. |
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Developing Vocabulary and Literacy Skills
Once you have engaged your pupils in daily reading practice you may wish to develop vocabulary or work on the higher order thinking skills; AR has this functionality built in at no extra cost. This session focuses on routines for identifying and using Vocabulary Practice and Literacy Skills quizzes and explains how to monitor progress and analyse reports along with ideas on classroom best practice.
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Getting Parents Involved
Getting parents involved can be time-consuming and frustrating, but a simple yet effective solution can be found within your Renaissance Place site. In this session the Implementation Specialist will help you introduce AR to parents, with a particular focus on Home Connect. The Home Connect website offers parents/guardians easy access to their child’s quizzing records, which can help them make informed book choices for children using AR BookFinder.
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Introduction to Accelerated Reader for New Members of the AR team
Once you have successfully implemented AR in your school and have seen the benefits it has for your pupils, you may want to introduce AR to the rest of your staff. Teachers, teaching assistants and support staff who are helping your pupils read will all benefit from knowing how to use Renaissance Place, to view reports and administer the STAR Reading test and AR quizzes. Training as many staff as possible could be a major step towards introducing literacy across the Curriculum. |
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Advancing your AR Library
Making the appropriate books easily accessible to your pupils as possible is key to the success of AR. The first step is to advise you on how best to match your books to the available quizzes. Organising and labelling your book stock can be adapted to suit your own school environment. We will cover suggestions on how to shelve, label and colour code your books, including how to use AR BookGuide and AR BookFinder. This will provide your pupils with guidance for finding the most appropriate books to read.
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Understanding STAR Early Literacy
Compared to paper assessments, STAR Early Literacy is faster, less costly and provides better and more extensive results in approximately 10 minutes! STAR Early Literacy allows you to assess 41 early reading skills, including general readiness, phonemic awareness and phonics so you can provide more effective instruction during the most critical years of your early readers' literacy development. This course will give you an overview of how to use the system and analyse the valuable data that will help you guide instruction.
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On-site Consulting
Implementing Accelerated Reader for the first time with a large number of pupils requires a well-constructed plan to be in place. Our experienced Consultants can visit your school for a day and work with the Project Manager, members of the Senior Leadership Team and thoroughly review your resources and look at all options available to you. By the end of the day you and your Consultant will have constructed and agreed a detailed plan containing a timeline for implementation with built-in training and support that will enable you and your pupils to achieve maximum success.
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