AR-e You Reading on an iPad or iPod?

At the start of this year I volunteered to be my school's "Tech Innovator" which means I'm kind of a the voice between the district tech facilitator and my school. So far I haven't had to do anything for it. But, I did get an iPad to use in my classroom- score!! Short of letting the kids take turns using it each day, I wanted to find a way to use our one iPad in a way that involved the whole class.  Well, our school started doing the AR (Accelerated Reading) Program this year. I know this is a pretty popular program in schools across the country. If you haven't heard of it, AR is a program where students log in to take comprehension tests after reading books at their independent reading level. AR also has a free ap! Now it won't do you any good if you don't already have a paid account through your school. But if you do, the kids will be able to access their AR account and take tests using an iPad or iPod. I have 3 computers in the room that I like to use for as a center during our Math and Literacy blocks. With the iPad, I don't have to rely on those computers to give my kids access to their AR account.

 My class is used to my cheesy puns. They were pretty amused with this one and got it right away :)

I printed and laminated this little cover then taped it to the front of the iPad case. I keep it on the ledge of the white board at the front of the room as a reminder to my kiddos that whenever they have any "extra" time they should be reading their AR books. My class is highly motivated by the AR program. They love taking the tests and watching their points go up with each passed test. To the right of the iPad are the little login cards I made up with every child's login and password. Just like on the computer they need to know both to access their account on the homepage below. The kids grab the cards and find their name when they want to test. They really don't require my assistance at all and know they can grab and test anytime the iPad is at the front of the room.

To the left is one of my guy's taking an AR quiz today during our literacy stations.Once they are logged in they can easily search for the books they read by typing the title of the book into the search bar. We also have four iPods in the classroom and when they aren't being using for a center the kids can grab and test on those too!!

If you use Accerlearted Reader and have access to iPads or iPods then you should definitely check out the ap!