FREE Audible Books with Accelerated Reader Tests

Whether you’re a teacher who uses Accelerated Reader or a parent of a student whose school uses Accelerated Reader, you will find this list handy during the school closures and quarantines.

If You’re a Teacher Who Uses Accelerated Reader

Good news! Audible has made hundreds of books available to students for the next few months. Our school has decided to use a combination of audiobooks and Accelerated Reader book quizzes to give our students an alternative to binge-watching Netflix or YouTube videos of cats.

Many of our students don’t have reliable Internet, but most of them have smartphones with at least a minimum data plan. This will enable students to download free Audible books and have something to listen to.

We’ve set up a system for students to contact us when they finish reading (listening) to a book and want to take the Accelerated Reader book quiz. We lowered each students’ daily reading time because we realize that they may not have the self-discipline to keep up with our normal 60-minutes a day of reading.

We have also instructed students to listen to books in their current ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development). The goal and ZPD guidelines help students choose books that they will find success listening to and taking the quiz over.

Look for Free MyOn Next Week!

I spoke with a Renaissance rep today who told me that MyOn, a Renaissance resource with downloadable books and corresponding AR quizzes, will open up for all current customers who have Accelerated Reader sometime next week. This will add thousands of new books that students can both see and listen to in the coming weeks.

If You’re a Parent Whose Student Attends a School that Uses Accelerated Reader (AR)

Maybe your child attends a school that uses AR (Accelerated Reader) but your local library has closed. Never fear, you’ll find hundreds of FREE audiobooks on Audible that also have AR tests.

If you don’t have Internet, several companies have offered free Internet services for the next 60 days.

• Charter will offer free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households.
• Comcast may also have free Internet for 60 days. Call (844) 544-5181 to find out if they have service in your area.

Share this list with your child’s teacher, and ask if the school has a system in place for students to continue reading (or listening to) books during the school closures.

Other Helpful Resources for Teachers

Renaissance Learning currently offers Freckle Math Premium for all current Accelerated Math clients. You can check out their demo here. Don’t worry, although the demo seems very childish for middle and high school students, you can use a more sophisticated (age-appropriate) dashboard for older students. The Freckle demo uses the K-2 dashboard, not the middle-grade or high-school dashboards.

I’ve never heard of Townsend Press before, but if you teach college English classes or upper-grade English classes, Townsend Press has a free deal going on through June 19, 2020. According to an email from a colleague, this is what Townsend Press has to offer:

Prior to today, a free two-week grace period applied to all new students in the Learning Center. Starting now, that grace period will extend through June 19th. If for whatever reason students are unable to get automatic access, you can manually enter this access code for them (or have us do it for you): 31GJ-A9G1-FF8E-NUV5

If your students have access to good Internet, you can also get a free month’s worth of content from The Great Courses Plus. This freebie requires a credit card and cancellation before they bill you for the next month. If you sign up and choose quarterly billing, it’s only $10 a month.

I may keep it for a few more months. I discovered great courses on birding, watercolor painting, and quilting. Perfect content if you want to explore new avocations.

Get Your Free AR/Audible Booklist!

Just CLICK HERE to access the list of free Audible books that also have an Accelerated Reader quiz.

Share this post with your teacher friends. Together, we can make virtual school a little easier for each of us.

Does your school use Accelerated Reader? Here's a list of FREE Audible books that have AR tests along with reading levels, book points, and interest levels. #teacher #resources #RenaissanceLearning #AR #Audible Click To Tweet

U.S. History Resources for Teachers and Parents

I just received an email from the Gilder Lehrman Institute with news about how they plan on helping. They will be doing the following things to help out, so stay tuned to their website!

• Working from home to provide resources for upcoming programs, events, and initiatives, such as our AP US History Study Guide.
• Creating new resources that can be used by anyone from home, including a digital presentation of highlights from the Gilder Lehrman Collection next Friday, April 3 (details to come)
• Adapting our renowned Hamilton Education Program into an at-home version for teachers and parents, available soon.
• Granting all parents and families free full access to the Gilder Lehrman website — learn more here. 
• Encouraging teachers to share our resources with their colleagues, students, and their students’ families.

Killer Deal on Early Education and Elementary Resource

We’ve used Skoolbo.com with our elementary students for years. They earn the right to play educational games on the computer by finishing classwork. They have math, ELA (English language arts), science, geography, phonics, and writing units that kids love to play.

Even better, as a parent, you can set up notifications so that significant others in your child’s life know when your child has learned a new concept. What an incredible way to involve more people in your child’s success (while maintaining social distancing).

Skoolbo offers a 12-month family subscription for just $15.00. No workbooks, no grading, just fun and learning. It works with tablets, computers, and even phones.