13 July 2021
Heather achieves top online reading status
A pupil at Johnshaven School has reached the highest status of an online programme which aims to encourage children and young people to read.
The primary uses Accelerated Reader which the pupils use throughout the year to read new books and re-visit classic stories. The programme has various levels, the highest is Honorary Reader, which was recently obtained by P7 pupil Heather Woollacott.
Heather said: “I started using Accelerated Reader in P4 and one of the things I like about it is that it has encouraged me to read non-fiction books. I reached Honorary Reader status I had to get 100 points from reading fiction and non-fiction books at level five or above and in the quiz, I had to score 85% or more. I had a list of books I was trying to read through to get to Honorary Reader.
“When I finished my last book and completed the challenge, I felt happy that I had finished before I left primary school. My advice for other people thinking of using Accelerated Reader is to try it, and it will help you choose books you wouldn’t normally choose to read. I already had a passion for reading but Accelerated Reader helped me to try different authors and types of books I probably wouldn’t have tried on my own.”
Heather’s favourite authors include American writer Rick Riordan, who is known for writing the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and Irish author and screenwriter Derek Landy. “I love their books and the characters they make up,” Heather said.
Head teacher Karen Johnstone said: “Heather has had to work tremendously hard to achieve Honorary Reader status. Everyone at Johnshaven School is so proud of her. Hopefully her achievements will inspire other children to give Accelerated Reader and other reading tools a try to discover new books and rediscover familiar favourites.”
Accelerated Reader is a website used by teachers and parents and carers to improve their children’s reading skills.
If you or your child is looking for inspiration for which book to pick up next, there is still time to complete the Live Life Aberdeenshire Summer Reading initiative, now in its 20th year. For more information, please visit https://www.livelifeaberdeenshire.org.uk/news-folder/src-2021/