AR Goal Setting

 

Does your school use Accelerated Reader?  Have you learned how to set goals for your students? It's so easy! First, students need to take the STAR test on AR.  Then, simply go into "Goals", click on a few boxes, and voila...goals set!  Each student will have a different point goal based on their STAR reading level and the number of minutes per day you want them to be reading.

 

Here comes the fun part.  Once you set your students' goals you can begin tracking their progress.  For the first nine weeks of school I gave students a popcorn kernel (cut out of yellow construction paper) to glue on their card each time they reached 25%, 50%, 75%, etc... of their goal.  Students with 75% or more at the end of the nine weeks got a popcorn party.  I decorated the pocket chart with little popcorn holders that I found at Smart and Final. 

 

For the next nine weeks of school, students will earn a "marshmallow guy" for each increment of 20% of their goal that they achieve.  Can you see the "marshmallow guy"?  He's in "whipped cream".  Students that reach 80% or more of their goal get a hot cocoa party.  Yum!

 

What the Teacher Learned:  Food is a good motivator!

AR Goal Setting Bookmark

 

I can't take credit for creating this bookmark, but I can direct you to The Book Bug.  Just scroll down a bit and you'll see this bookmark in it's color image.

 

I really enjoyed using AR last year.  It gave me a very straightforward way to track the students' reading.  This is the first year that I have done Goal Setting. Basically it's a point value arrived at by taking into account the student's ZPD and how many minutes a day they should be reading. 

 

Don't worry, the AR program does all the work for you.  First make sure that each student has taken the STAR test in the AR program. Then, log onto AR and click on the Live Chat link. The nice people at AR will walk you through it.  It will take you all of five minutes. 

 

In my class, students that meet their AR goal in the first nine weeks will be invited to a popcorn party.  In fact, the students will also get a pizza party if they reach a goal set by our principal.  How's that for a good deal?!

 

What the Teacher Learned:  Setting clear and attainable goals helps students find success.  And a little treat never hurt either!