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F. E. M.'s Library Media Center |
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Frequently Asked QuestionsFrequently Asked Questions
What is Accelerated Reader or AR? Accelerated Reader is a computerized reading motivational program that is supplementary to the reading instruction that your child receives from his/her teacher. AR is managed by a company called Renaissance Learning. All students in grades 1-5 participate in it. Some of our Kindergarteners also use it before graduating. At Fairfield the AR program is a web-based program. In January of 2007 we updated to the AR Enterprise version of AR. This gives every student at Fairfield the opportunity to read a wider number of books because they have access to EVERY AR Quiz that has been made. We are no longer limited to only the tests the school has purchased. That's an easy 1,2,3 1. Student picks an A. R. Book. Any book that interests them and is also in their reading zone or ZPD. This ZPD is determined by the score received after taking the S.T.A.R test. This test is given several times throughout the year to monitor each students' progress. No grade is involved. This S.T.A.R. test is simply a way for students to find a starting place for their reading. 2. Student reads the book. First and second graders are encouraged to read their books 3 times before they take an AR Quiz. This does not apply to chapter books. 3. Student takes an AR Quiz. Who can check out books from the Library Media Center? All students in grades 1-5 will begin the year, after a brief library orientation and review of procedures, checking out a book or books. Before the end of the first nine weeks, all Kindergarten students will be checking out a book. Teachers and parents are also welcome to check books out from the library. How many books can each student check out and keep a library book? Kindergarten students will begin checking out 1 book to keep in their classroom for 1 week. Eventually, they will take their library books home to enjoyn and return at the end of 1 week. First and second graders will begin the year checking out 1 book for 1 week. Depending on the overall responsibility level of each grade, the students may be allowed to check out 2 books at the same time. Third, fourth, and fifth graders check out 2 books for 1 week. Again, depending on the overall grade levels' responsibility, the students will be allowed to check out more books for a 1 week period. Books may be renewed up to 2 times if needed. What happens if a book is damaged or lost by a student? If a library book is damaged while a student has it, the student should return the book to the librarian as soon as possible. While the effort is appreciated, book repairs need to be made by the librarian. If a library book is lost, arrangements need to be discussed with the librarian. In most cases, payment for the replacement cost of the book is expected. Students are encouraged to search carefully for misplaced or lost library books before they are declared "lost". When is the library open to students? The library hours are 8:00 - 2:45 Monday through Friday. There are exceptions to this on rare occasions. In that event, an announcement is made to inform the teachers and students. Can books be donated to the library? Absolutely! We are eager to accept donated books. A few guidelines are required in order to put donated books on library shelves. All library books need to be clean and without any personalized writing inside. All library books need to be in good condition without any torn pages or broken spines. All library books need to be sturdy and able to withstand being shared by many students. What day is my child's library day? Kindergarten and the Pre-K classes have set library days. All other classes will visit the library when the classroom teachers schedules a time. Wrinkles in schedules are still being worked out, so please be patient. Ask your child when they are going to the Library. Most of the time they will know. How can I best help my child in learning to be responsible with library books? The best way to help your child in becoming responsible with their library boooks is to begin the year with a plan. Discuss ahead of time, and repeat daily, then weekly, to stick to the plan. Keep library books in the same, safe place. Inside the backpack is always a great idea. Load backpacks the night before so in the mornings, everything has already been gathered and ready to go. Also, let your child own the responsibility. They checked out the books, so they need to take care of, keep up with, and return their books on time. If they should forget their library book, they will not check out another book until they return the others. Once or twice doing this, is usually all it takes before the lesson is learned. What type of consequenses are there if a child disobeys library rules? Since the library rules are basically the same as all of the other school and classroom rules, my expectations for students following the rules is very high. When I do have to issue consequenses however, most of the time it involves a phone call to a parent. My experience has been that this 1 action seems to "magically" cure all that causes a rule to be broken by any student. How can I find out whick books are in the Accelerated Reader Program ? Since Fairfield participates in the Accelerated Reader Enterprise program, almost every book that K-5 students would select have an AR Quiz. If you surf the web go to http://www.renlearn.com, and locate and select "Store" across the blue tool bar. In the welcome to the Ren. Online Store area, find "Quiz Store" and select. On the line you see Title, and a long blank to fill in a title, then "GO", next you should see "Advanced Search". Select this and you will be able to locate book titles by Interest level and book level, etc. On the Displaying Search Matches, on the same line with each title listed, you will also see the book's level and the # of points that book has been assigned. Is there a way that I can check my child's progress myself, from home? Yes, Fairfield parents can. Once your child has been enrolled at Fairfield and the "Acceptable Use Policy" form has been signed and returned, your child automatically is enrolled into the AR Program. If you send in writing, a request to access AR, then you will be signed up and given a username and password to access the Parent Options from home. |
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