~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
We started the Hooked on Books program in 2020. Since then, our students have become familiar with the procedure of reading books, taking quizzes, and earning points. The program is a core part of our curriculum. Most importantly, it has become one of the most popular activities in the eyes of students. In this article, we will share students’ data and opinions about the program.
Exciting Data
To think that, since September of last year, the children have earned 43,099 points is amazing. Furthermore, we only require students to earn between 1 and 6 points. This indicates that our students earn far more points than they are required to get. I’ll talk more about this below.
The number of quizzes passed tells us how many books our students read and successfully passed a quiz for. This number includes books from our school library, books brought from home, and e-books on myON, our online library.
This staggering number shows how dedicated our students are to reading. Since one major goal of Hooked On Books is to foster a love of reading, this number is evidence that the program is successful.
Qualitative Feedback
The other major goal of the program is to develop students’ independent reading ability in English. To find out if we are successful in this regard, we can look at more data from students' reading habits over time.
Firstly, since the program began, the jump in students who reach their AR point goal has skyrocketed. In the first year of the program, about 75% of students reached their goals in each grading period. This year, about 94% of students reach their goals.
Students’ Experience
All of this data is interesting to teachers and parents, but Hooked On Books was designed for students. We asked them what they think of the program. Here are some of their answers:
“My favorite part of Hooked On Books time is using myON because I can find many genres.”
“I like to get the most points in my class. Last time I got 21 points!”
“I can sit on a pillow and read with my friend.”
We are thrilled that students are succeeding at reading while they are having fun with the program. We are looking forward to developing the program further so every student will achieve a high standard of success while they read about topics they love.
Finally, I will present the data discussed above separated into each grade. You can see how the different grades engaged with reading differently. For example, grade 6 students earned the most total points, but passed fewer quizzes than grades 2, 3, and 4. This tells us that grade 6 students read longer books that are worth more points.
From the Editor
The Power of Reading Choice and Time
國際處主任 賴國宜
Our students are given 20 minutes to read books of their choice in class three times a week. Do you know how many books they read, how many quizzes they took and how many AR points they earned? Mr. Warmke, our Curriculum Coordinator, revealed these interesting numbers in his article. This amazing data shows the cumulative effects of regular reading habits. In addition to the increase in quantity, teachers also observed that extensive reading increases our students' vocabulary, which enhances comprehension and even oral expression skills. The ultimate goal of our Hooked on Books program is never to read one book or one hundred books. Our goal is to help our students develop a love of reading and passion of continuing reading.
Hooked on Books閱讀課程實施三年以來，幾乎所有的孩子對選書、閱讀、做AR測驗的整個流程都非常熟悉，每周三次，每次20分鐘，放下其他活動，專心閱讀，一個月可以讀多少故事？一年可以看幾本書？這一期課研組長Mr. Warmke為我們分析從系統後台監控的數據，整體而言，不管是閱讀的數量，或獲得的AR點數，都比第一年大幅提升。這些數據代表「累積」的力量，當然，我們推動閱讀的目標絕不是讀一本書或一百本書，而是透過「累積」的過程，讓孩子成為有讀書習慣的人，養成固定閱讀的習慣，進而愛上閱讀、享受閱讀。除了量的提升，老師們也觀察到大量閱讀能增進學生的詞彙量，促進閱讀理解和口語表達能力，進而提升學習的自信心。
「兒童偏食」是個令許多父母頭疼的問題，飲食習慣其實從小就養成，如果能幫助孩子認識健康的飲食，了解均衡飲食的重要性，我們相信孩子會更願意嘗試各種營養的食物，這就是二年級中師設計Healthy Eating這個寫作主題的目的，孩子們化身為健康飲食的推廣大使，先調查哪些食物不受歡迎，接著研究這些食物的營養價值，以及讓食物變美味的烹調方式。想讓您家的餐桌變得更營養均衡嗎？參考一下二年級孩子推薦的健康食物。