[Jeremiah Choi]

I've attached some light reading (ha ha) for those of you who are new to AR. 

I'll give you some info right off the bat: 

1. If your class will have Emergent Readers or Early Fluent Readers (for a definition on what those are, clickhttp://www.readinga-z.com/guided/stages.html), please read PAGE 63 in the "Getting ready for AR" PDF.

2. Everyone should read the High School pages: Page 73 and on. Here's a summary: 

• Make sure that the reading practice is monitored. Keep track of what the students are reading and if they can even read all that material at once.
• Focus on motivating the students to like and enjoy reading. Hold class discussions on books, get peer recommendations on books, talk about some amazing passage they've read, have someone choose a quote for the daily journal, etc. 
• Try to establish the habit of reading 20 minutes a day for the students.
• Encourage them by getting excited about literature. Talk about your favorite books and what books they might enjoy.

Process for starting AR for your Class

(Familiarize yourself with the tests and the software using this username: teststudent / password: asdf123 to log in for yourself to try it out and take the STAR Reading test.)

***** (You should print out a roster of the usernames beforehand). You won't be able to access the site's features yet because I haven't added the students into the database. I will add them when I get a list of all your students in their classes. 

1. Sign up to use the computer lab w/ Ms. Soon / Ms. Sherry
   
2. Take your class to the computer lab and go to bit.ly/gvcs-ar on the web browser.
   
3. Click Student
   
4. Type in their usernames (You should print out a roster of the usernames beforehand).
   
5. Type in their password (the default password will be "gvcs." Once they sign in, they'll be asked to change their password)
   
6. Click on "Take a Test" under STAR Reading.
   
7. Click Start Test
   
8. Enter the Monitor Password: ADMIN.
   
9. Let me know how it goes. You all should try it in advance to iron out any hiccoughs. 
   

Also, before I assign the students, familiarize yourself with the functions of the website as much as possible. The PDF I sent you really has a lot of valuable information in how to set goals and print reports for your student. READ AS MUCH OF IT AS POSSIBLE.

The Grading Policy

10% of your class' grade will be determined by AR.

Of that 10%:

• 50% should be on the average score on comprehension tests.
  
• 25% should come from how many points they get from the point goal that you set in the beginning of the semester.
  
• The final 25% should come from how well they followed procedures. This includes the procedures you set for them: keeping a record of all the books they've read in the forms (provided in the PDF), etc. This one's basically used to help you boost their grade because it should be easy for them to do.
  

Let me know if you have any questions! Call or email me.