I have been a kindergarten teacher for twenty years and Accelerated Reader (AR) has been part of my classroom the entire time. I have tried everything: some things have been great, others have failed, and others were just too time consuming to implement well. I am aware AR has its haters, but when implemented right, it is an incredible program.
Using the AR word count is hands down my favorite motivator I have ever used. There is something about it that resonates so much with my young readers.
Basically, what I do is set a word count goal for the month. Once a student reads that number, they put their name on a piece of construction paper that says something like "1000 word club." No prize. Just their name on a piece of paper. And we cheer for each child as they write their name on the paper. Each time a child tests on a book, they report it to me, and say "I got 80% and 234 words!" It's also a sneaky way to get them reading three digit numbers.
The results I get are so exciting. In the month of April, my 25 students are on track to read 100,000 words. I am watching their confidence soar. One day recently in the morning, a student said to me, "I wish it was AR time already." And that is everything.