~ Zachary Warmke
Curriculum Coordinator
Students have returned to the routines and habits of school life, such as our independent reading program, Hooked on Books. As you know, students read English library books or ebooks, then take quizzes to earn AR Points. Each grading period, there is a point goal for each grade. Hooked on Books encourages students to read more, and to try reading different text types and genres.
In this article we will explain one part of Hooked on Books: the Millionaire Club. This our program for rewarding students who truly love to read. Your child may come home with a colorful pin on their backpack or a certificate of achievement tucked into their folder. These are Millionaire Club rewards, and they really get students excited about reading.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
When students pass an AR quiz for a book, the software automatically counts the number of English words in that book. Over time, the students’ “Words Read” number rises. This number doesn’t affect their grade, but it is very satisfying for students to watch the number reach into the tens of thousands.
Every month, the International Department checks students’ accounts to see if they have reached a new “Words Read” milestone. If so, we present them with a reward during the Foreign English Teacher’s class. That way, the whole class will celebrate their achievement.
Students who reach level seven – one million words – become “Millionaires.” These high achievers receive their rewards during morning assembly, directly from the Principal and in front of their whole grade.
Word Count Guidelines
The “Words Read” milestones were carefully chosen based on data from the United States children’s book publisher Scholastic and the American Common Core educational standards.
If a student has good reading habits, they should reach a new milestone every year. Most grade 1 students should reach the first milestone before the end of the year. Most grade 2 students should reach second milestone, and so on. That means that level seven, the prestigious Millionaire level, is only for students who push themselves.
Harry Potter is a good example to show how many words are in popular English books. The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is about 77,000 words long. The entire Harry Potter series is about 1,100,000 words long. So a student who reads the whole series and passes all the quizzes will be a Millionaire!
Motivation for Success
Students love to collect all the pins and display them proudly on their book bags and jackets. While the students think the rewards are cool, we adults know that these rewards are mostly a way to encourage them to read. This system is definitely working. Since we started the Millionaire Club, students have read more books in one year than any year before.
We encourage you to talk to your children about the books they are reading and their personal reading habits. Be sure to celebrate their achievements and to show off the cool pins they earn. Thank you for supporting our reading program!
From the Editor
Hooked on Books: Growing Lifelong Learners
國際處主任 賴國宜
What kind of reading program lets students freely enjoy books they love, earn points and word counts, and collect adorable badges along the way? That's our Hooked on Books program! In this issue, we invited Mr. Warmke, the Curriculum Coordinator of the International Department and designer of the Hooked on Books program, to introduce the most exciting part of our reading reward system: the Millionaire Club.
Based on U.S. reading data and Common Core standards, each level reflects the number of words students can realistically achieve each year through steady reading. Those who read one million words earn the proud title of "Millionaire." This program isn't just about numbers; it's about building daily reading habits and finding joy in books. We hope through reading, our students are growing not just as readers, but as lifelong learners.
隨著天氣轉涼，學期快過半，孩子們已逐漸回到學習的節奏，其中最重要的日常之一，就是我們的英文閱讀計畫──Hooked on Books。透過閱讀英語書籍與測驗，孩子們不僅能累積 AR Points，更能養成持續閱讀的習慣，享受學習的樂趣。
這一期特別邀請規劃Hooked on Books計畫的國際處課研組長，Mr. Warmke為大家介紹學生最期待的部分──Millionaire Club。這個獎勵制度參考美國學童的閱讀研究與 Common Core 標準，設定合理的「累積字數」目標，讓孩子們能逐步進階。原則上，只要持續閱讀並維持穩定進步，大部分的學生每學年都能達成一個新的級數並獲得徽章。而那些閱讀超過一百萬字的學生，將獲得「百萬富翁（Millionaire）」的榮譽。這樣的成就代表孩子在閱讀上投入了大量時間與專注力，是值得全校一起喝采的成果，因此可以獲得校長在朝會頒獎的殊榮。
我們相信，閱讀的價值不在於競賽，而在於習慣與熱情。Millionaire Club希望讓每一位孩子都能感受到閱讀的成就感。願這份閱讀的熱情，陪著他們一生，成為他們終身主動探索與學習的力量。