eLearning: A Message from our Librarians | 在线学习：来自我校图书管理员的信息

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 Following the recent school closure announcement by the Beijing Education Commission (BEC) and the request for schools to resume online learning exclusively as of June 17th, YCIS Beijing teachers and staff have worked tirelessly to guarantee those students who were back on-campus learning a smooth transition to e-Learning and arranged the release of learning materials in a timely manner. Amongst YCIS Beijing academic staff were also our librarians, Laurie Montero and Julie Chen, who since the beginning of the online learning period in February, never stopped to provide support to staff and students, while promoting reading. 

Laurie Montero and her colleague, Julie Chen, have been running the Online Primary Library programme with the objective of promoting the love for reading amongst learners. “Since we have been teaching online through ZOOM classes over the past 4 months, having a library time set aside each week has been vital to the students.”  explained the seasoned teacher from the United States. During the library slot of the timetable, Ms Montero uses her time with students to discover what books they are reading, gives them an opportunity to share with their classmates then chooses a book for all to read.

Speaking to the topics she chooses when reading to her students, she said “I try to choose topics and books that will inspire them and encourage them, especially during this difficult time. Sometimes we read funny books just to make them laugh.”

In addition to reading books, Ms Montero uses platforms such as Raz Kids, Epic and Oxford Owl which allow for her students to read books categorized according to their levels, with some offering quizzes to check comprehension plus games and activities where they can be awarded points based on the quantity of books they have read.

With the rise of eLearning in 2020 many websites and app platforms have also made their services more accessible to parents. Some of those are Time 4 Kids, Britannica, Pebble Go, Stories Audible, and Light Box.

At YCIS-BJ we promote reading due to its ability to develop students’ language skills and vocabulary, and according to Ms Chen, students also stand to benefit in the following ways:

- Reading stimulates cognitive skills

- It builds motivation and curiosity

- It exposes children to diverse ideas

- It also nurtures your child as it provides one on one attention

- Finally, it creates positive memories

Miss Montero who has been a Librarian at YCIS-BJ for the past school year shares that her passion for reading was ignited by her mother. “My mother is an avid reader. She always provided books for me to read and encouraged me to read and widen my vocabulary.”

According to Jane Martuneac Kang, Upper Primary Learning and Teaching Coordinator, our School is dedicated to improving students reading abilities on campus, while parents who would like to further nurture this skill in their children in the comfort of their homes,  can do so by the following:

Read to your child.

Children who are read aloud to are more likely to turn into avid readers, as it promotes to them the joy of reading. Reading books aloud exposes your child to new and challenging vocabulary, vocabulary which we may not actually use as frequently in conversations. Try to make reading aloud a habit; each night before bed, read a few pages out of a book that you both enjoy!

Read with your child.

Allow time in your day for your child to read a book to you. Be near them, listen to them sound out the words and engage in discussions about it. Ask questions that take the comprehension below surface level. These often start with “how” and “why” and will help your child develop their inferential skills. Making reading a team effort can be highly motivating to your child and will certainly make the process a more fun part of each day!

Re-read.

Encourage your child to read books more than one time. Each time a child rereads book, a new level of fluency and comprehension can be obtained. When you read to your child, don’t be afraid to choose a book that you’ve already read together. It can be comforting to read a familiar story and smile together again at your favourite parts.

Maintain a variety of different books.

Have a variety of text types available to your child to read. Provide your child with fiction books of many different genres: historical, mystery, adventure, classics, etc. In addition to this, it is a good idea to balance your child’s bookshelf with works of non-fiction as well. A different set of skills are utilised when we read non-fiction books. Exposure to both is very important to developing a well-rounded reader. 

Stay positive and realistic.

Learning to read with understanding is a long process and for some children, it is longer and harder than others. Kind words of encouragement about how they are trying hard to sound out words or how they are thinking carefully about the meaning will help to keep your child engaged in this process. In addition, it is important to keep our expectations for our children realistic. Jumping to higher levels will only lead to eventual frustration and does not promote the development of key comprehension skills. Slow and steady is what we should be aiming for.

We encourage parents to talk with their child’s teacher to get a better understanding of the reading levels or to discuss any concerns you might have about your child’s progress in reading.

最近，北京市教育委员会(BEC)发布停课公告并要求学校自6月17日起恢复在线学习,北京耀中的教师和工作人员夜以继日地工作,以保证这些学生从在校学习顺利过渡回在线学习，并且安排及时发放学习资料。我们的图书管理员也是北京耀中学校教职员工中的一员，自今年2月开始在线学习以来，她们不间断的为教职员工和学生提供支持，促进阅读。 

Laurie Montero和她的同事Julie Chen一直在负责这个在线图书馆，目的是激发学生对于阅读的热爱。“在过去的4个月里，我们一直通过ZOOM进行在线教学，每周留出一点图书馆时间对学生来说非常重要。”这位经验丰富的美国教师解释道。在图书馆的时间安排中，Montero女士利用与学生们在一起的时间，了解他们在读什么书，让他们有机会与同学们分享，然后向大家推荐一本书。

谈到她为学生朗读时选择的主题，她说：“我尽量选择能够激励和鼓励他们的主题和书籍，尤其是在这个艰难的时期。有时我们读有趣的书，就是为了让他们开心。”

除了读书之外，Motero女士借助如Raz Kids和Oxford Owl的平台，允许她的学生们根据他们的水平读相应类别的书,并且提供一些测验来检验他们的理解力，加上一些根据他们读书数量获得的奖励积分。

随着2020年在线教育的兴起，许多网站和应用平台也让家长更容易获取他们的服务。其中包括Time 4 Kids、Britannica、Pebble Go、Stories Audible和Light Box。

在北京耀中，我们提倡阅读，因为阅读能够培养学生的语言能力和词汇量，根据陈老师的说法，学生还会从以下方面获益:

- 阅读促进认知技能

- 培养积极性和好奇心

- 让孩子接触到不同的观点

- 培养孩子一对一的关注

- 最后, 它创造了积极的记忆

Montero女士在过去的学年里一直是北京耀中的图书管理员，她说她对阅读的热爱是她母亲点燃的。“我的母亲是一个狂热的阅读者。她总是给我提供书籍，鼓励我阅读，扩大我的词汇量。”

虽然我们学校致力于提高学生的阅读能力，但想进一步培养孩子阅读能力的家长们也可以在舒适的家中做到这一点。根据小学部高年级学习和教学协调员Jane Martuneac Kang女士的说法，家长可以通过以下方式做到这一点：

给您的孩子读书

聆听大声朗读的孩子更有可能热衷阅读，因为这给他们带来了读书的乐趣。大声读书能让您的孩子接触到新的、有挑战性的词汇，这些词汇我们在对话中可能不会经常用到。努力使朗读成为一种习惯; 每天晚上睡觉前，读几页你们都喜欢的书!

和孩子一起阅读

每天留出时间让孩子读一本书给您听。靠近他们，听他们读，并参与讨论。问一些容易理解的问题。这些问题通常以“如何”和“为什么”开始，这将帮助您的孩子发展他们的推理技能。让阅读成为团队行为可以极大程度地激励您的孩子，并且一定会让阅读成为每天有趣的一部分!

重复读

鼓励孩子们多读书。每次孩子重读一本书，流利程度和理解力都能达到一个新的水平。当您读给孩子听的时候，不要介意可以选择你们已经一起读过的书。读一个熟悉的故事，再次欣赏您最喜欢的片段也会很开心。

保持多元化阅读

准备多类别的书供您的孩子进行阅读。您可以给孩子提供不同类型的小说:历史、推理、冒险、古典小说等等。除此之外，在孩子的书架上摆放一些非小说类的书籍也是个不错的主意。当我们阅读非小说类书籍时，会用到一套不同的技巧。接触这两种书籍对培养全面的阅读者非常重要。

保持积极和客观

学会边阅读边理解是一个漫长的过程，对一些孩子来说，时间更长，难度也更大。鼓励孩子说出自己想说的话，或者认真思考这些话的意思，这些都有助于孩子参与到这个过程中来。此外，我们对孩子的期望要切合实际，这点也很重要的。拔苗助长只会导致最终的挫折，并不能促进关键理解技能的发展。慢而稳是我们应该追求的目标。

与孩子的老师交谈，以更好地了解孩子的阅读水平，或讨论您对孩子阅读进步的担忧。