Accelerated Reader at Wilmington Academy

"When I look back, I am then impressed again with the life-giving power of literature. If I were a young person today, trying to gain a sense of myself in the world, I would do that again by reading, merely every bit I did when I was immature." – Maya Angelou

The Accelerated Reader Programme is one of our primary reading interventions to improve literacy at Wilmington Academy. Accelerated Reader is a very successful programme because it is designed to come across the reading needs of every private student. Out of the 16,000 books in our library, reading books are selected  to meet individual levels and through the programme, we are able to monitor student progress throughout the academic year. Each year we see fantastic gains in the reading ages of our students, having a positive touch on learning across all subjects in the academy.

All Yr 7 and 8 students participate in the programme. Students are assessed at the beginning of the year to determine their ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development), which is their personalised reading range. Reading and quizzing usually start at the lower level and students then work their way up to the higher level.  Every educatee  reads a volume of their choice at the right level for their power. KS3 students accept a designated i  60 minutes lesson of AR each week in the LRC.

Every book in the library which is included in the scheme, has been labelled with a volume level and colour coded to assist students in their option. One time students accept called a book at their level, they appoint in reading it first, then a quiz is taken.  Passing the quiz is an indication that they take understood what they have read and their results volition determine whether they tin movement up in their reading level.

At regular intervals in the academic year,nosotros examination students through the STAR examination (Standardized Testing And Reading). This tests the chronological reading age of each student when they commence  the year, during the schoolhouse year and at the cease of the school year to enable us to closely monitor whatsoever changes to their reading ability.

Year 7 and 8 Parents – Are y'all confused nearly the reading books your children are bringing dwelling house to read for Accelerated Reader?  Delight click on the link below the picture which helps explain the STAR tests and Accelerated Reader Programme.

Accelerated Reader scheme information image

Information about Accelerated Reader

myOn Online Platform

"One technology doesn't replace another, it complements. Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs past elevators ." – Stephen Fry.

In 2020, during the pandemic, we launched our new online digital library myON and since so , our student engagement has gone from strength to strength.

myON , is a new digital platform which allows our students unlimited access to thousands of enhanced digital books. This forms an integral role of our commitment to support dwelling house learning, to increment pupil engagement and to further develop reading skills in our students especially in the present climate of uncertainty.

MyON is a pregnant part of our school'south digital strategy allowing access to a '24/seven student -centred personalised literacy platform which matches students with the right volume and at the right reading level based on their interests. ' This has enabled our students to admission a digital library of 7000+ books and historic period-appropriate news articles all year round. In 2020, our students engaged with over 10,441 books using myON! Furthemore, myON also offers fabulous  features like the 'Daily News' Articles' which tin can  be translated into French and Spanish to support the close reading skills of our students as well. Moreover,the platform allows staff to remotely set up reading and writing projects  and MyON besides offers an exciting homework feature as well.

At Wilmington, we accept firmly embedded the Accelerated Reader ethos over a period of many years, so we are now able to link myON to the pupils' ZPD ( the child'southward ZPD defines the readability range from which they should be selecting books in order to achieve optimal growth in reading skills without experiencing whatever frustration) so students can continue to enjoy quizzing and earning points. With MYON, our students can have pages, sentences or words read to them. Subsequently, they likewise look up words they practise not understand and highlight and annotate passages. Each book contains word questions and writing prompts which back up their progress with reading.

MyON has allowed our students to flourish both in and out of the classroom and we look forward to continuing on our digital journey as we embrace the future of reading at Wilmington Academy!

"To understand their earth nosotros must exist willing to immerse ourselves in that globe. Nosotros must embrace the new digital reality. If we can't chronicle, if nosotros don't get it, we won't be able to make schools relevant to the current and hereafter needs of the digital generation." – Ian Jukes