October 1, 2024
Accelerated Reader (AR) is a powerful tool for building literacy in schools, but it’s not just about students reading books and taking quizzes. To maximise its potential, schools need a holistic approach, involving every subject and teacher in the literacy journey. Here are some practical tips and strategies for secondary schools using AR from a recent webinar hosted by Gemma Buchanan, Renaissance Education Adviser and former Director of English and Assistant Headteacher, and Margaret Allen, Renaissance Curriculum & Education Specialist and former teacher:
Reading is a school-wide responsibility
The DfE’s 2023 Reading Framework emphasises a school-wide responsibility for reading, calling it a “collective responsibility.” This goes beyond English departments and places literacy at the heart of every subject. As the framework highlights, students need a “feast of books” that extends across all subjects like Geography or even Science. However, this can’t be achieved in just eight hours of English lessons per week.
This is where the idea of voluntary sustained reading comes in—creating a culture where students read beyond the classroom. Every teacher can act as an influencer, incorporating reading into their subject areas and encouraging students to engage deeply with texts.
All teachers can support reading development
Teachers play a vital role in helping students engage with texts, guiding discussions, and building literacy in every subject. Based on her extensive experience, Gemma’s key takeaway is that teachers need to be just as involved in AR as their students, influencing and supporting their reading development.
Star Screening reports can help to bridge the literacy gap on transition from primary to secondary
One of the biggest challenges for secondary schools is the transition from primary school, where students often have varying levels of reading ability. The EEF highlights how crucial it is to address these differences early on. Using Star Screening Reports can help teachers quickly identify where their new Year 7 cohort stands in terms of reading ability. This allows them to plan interventions, group students effectively, and provide targeted support before introducing AR to the whole class.
Understanding text complexity with AR can help prepare students for GCSEs
Secondary school reading should prepare students for the challenges of GCSE-level texts. The ATOS readability analyser, which we have used to analyse GCSE papers, reveals that many of the questions asked are at a very high level, with vocabulary and sentence complexity for some papers on par with what adults’ encounter in academic or professional settings. For example, we observed that the 2022 GCSE Maths paper had an ATOS level of 11, equivalent to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The House of the Seven Gables — a text Gemma encountered in her degree studies!
It’s clear that students need to develop advanced reading skills across subjects, and AR can be a crucial tool in building these competencies early on. By picking apart vocabulary in subjects like maths, teachers can help students understand challenging terms that might appear in problem solving questions and essentially impact their results.
Practical strategies for engaging with Accelerated Reader
To make the most out of AR, especially at secondary education, schools need to integrate it fully into their literacy strategy. Here are some key strategies shared during the webinar:
- Don’t forget about Vocabulary Practice quizzes: Using AR’s Vocabulary Practice and Literacy Skills quizzes for texts like Frankenstein or Macbeth can help students prepare for their GCSEs while promoting discussion and oracy skills. Teachers can use sample questions as classroom activities, encouraging group discussions and deep engagement with the text. The more students are exposed to vocabulary, the better they’ll perform across all subjects.
- Explore every book quizzed with AR Bookfinder: AR Bookfinder is a fantastic resource for teachers, parents, and students, and allows access to quizzes on most classic texts included in the GCSE syllabus. Teachers can access three types of quizzes: literacy skills, reading practice, and vocabulary, making AR a flexible and robust tool for revision and continuous learning.
- Encourage critical thinking with custom quizzes: The Create a Book Quiz function within AR is an excellent way for students to engage with texts on a deeper level. Even if a quiz already exists, asking students to write their own quiz questions fosters critical thinking. This can be especially useful in subjects like history, science, and geography, where students can create quizzes based on articles or non-fiction texts they’ve studied. This active engagement not only helps with revision but encourages students to think creatively and collaboratively about their learning.
Are you looking for more tailored advice on integrating Accelerated Reader into your school’s literacy strategy? Feel free to contact us for a consultation or more practical resources!