February 14, 2019
By: Dwayne Page
Family Read Nights are underway at Smithville Elementary, DeKalb West, and Northside Elementary as part of the Accelerated Reader Program.
Read Nights give parents an opportunity to spend quality time reading with their children on designated days and times after school. Other family members may also participate in reading with the students.
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Ana Jarvis, an English as a second language (ESL) teacher at Smithville Elementary School who assists Librarian Jane Ramsey with Family Read Night said parents can bring their children to SES every Wednesday and Thursday through mid April and stay as long as they wish from 3-6 p.m. on those days.
“The children can practice their reading. Parents can read to them. The students take a quiz and we have prizes for them if they score 100%. Every month we give them a prize. We have some levels for points during the program. We give them prizes and the grand prize at the end of the program is a field trip to Greenbrook Park. We also have awards for those who read the most and scored the most points. They can become Principal or Librarian for a day,” said Jarvis.
Accelerated Reader is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get right. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year.
Check with your child’s school for a Family Read Night schedule.