The SWIS Evereads Story – Evereads


David Ho   |   November 21, 2019

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader“.- Margaret Fuller

Once upon a time, there were 8 high school freshmen who sought out ways to make an impact on the community by promoting English reading among young local students. These 8 inspired SWIS IB learners founded the SWIS Evereads Club and have committed to their mission by hosting an Evereads session every other Sunday since October 2017. 

In each session, the Evereads members introduce a carefully selected book and conduct a purposeful and engaging group reading session. The sessions contain not only group book-reading, but also activities such as warm-ups, vocabulary learning, group discussions, interactive questions, and musical performances, making this 2-hour learning experience both educational and entertaining. 

Last Sunday, the SWIS Evereads held its 50th session in Bao’an Library, a successful event that attracted over 200 participants including 60 children and their parents, SWIS School leaders, and distinguished guests. 

Among the guests are Director of Bao’an Library Mr. Zhou Ying Xiong, SWIS Board Director Mr. Guoxiang Gong, SWIS School Director Ms. Ally Wu, and SWIS Secondary Principal Ms. Jennifer Hager.

The selected reading for this 50th session is the book “Jack’s Worry”. The guided reading, led by David and Yoyo, was intriguing, interactive, and entertaining. The entire session was filled and joyous laughs and exciting discussions among the students. To top things off, Evereads member dedicated a beautiful number “Little Talks” to all the participants.

Let’s find out more about the SWIS Evereads from its very own members:

The History of Evereads

Evereads was founded in October 2017 by eight grade 9 (currently G11) students. Initially, we had no experience in teaching students, so we decided to visit a local primary school that is hosting a similar activity. Instead of copying their classes, we gradually developed a structure for our classes by asking for feedback from students and other teachers. In this process, all of our members also found their own teaching style. Today, we’ve hosted 50 Evereads reading sessions, with the 50th being our most recent one.

Challenges

The Evereads sessions are open to students aged 6 to 14. This presented our members with the challenge of making sure every student could learn something meaningful while enjoying the class. Through experimenting with different ways of teaching, we discovered and adapted the strategies of differentiated instruction. Every reading session, we now categorize the students by their age or by their English proficiency to ensure they experience an effective and engaging way of learning.

Benefits Gained

Evereads has provided all of us an opportunity to experience what it is like to interact with our society. Running Evereads requires us to be organized and efficient. What’s more, in order to succeed, not only are we required to communicate with members within the team, but also with Bao’an library staff and our parents. Throughout this period, we all made mistakes, but we always do our best to improve and make sure that those mistakes won’t happen again. In the end, while Evereads is a platform for us to exercise our skills, it is also a place where we have fun.

Unique “Traditions”

One of our traditions in Evereads is that we love to adjust our teaching plans at various festivals to have extra fun with the students. For example, we gave each student a chocolate candy coin on Halloween as a token for their participation. One of our personal favorite events, a musical performance which was held during a session last Chinese New Year, where several Evereads members played as an ensemble in front of students. The activity was kept as a surprise and all of the students were amazed by our wonderful performers. Their enjoyment motivates us to continue to strive and explore.

Future Vision

With our increased experience, helpful suggestions, and newly-joined members, we hope to adapt and improve our established teaching methods to reach the goal of motivating students to engage more actively. This might include new grouping methods, forms of guiding questions, and variations of activities. More so, Evereads might expand the scope of sessions by collaborating with the SWIS community and external organizations.

SWIS  VALUES DISPLAYED

We are very proud to witness the growth and success of the SWIS Evereads team. It is truly remarkable to see our new SWIS values being put into practice by these young students, long before its forming. In their journey to making a positive impact, they have shown their perseverance in their commitment to the sessions, their creativity in their various approaches to guiding the readers, and their empathy in their actions to make a positive difference in the lives of the others. 

Chinese Name: 深圳外国语学校国际部(SWIS)

Place Address: Shen Wai international School, No. 29, Baishi 3rd Road, Nanshan, Shenzhen, China 518053 中国深圳市南山区白石三道29号, 深圳外国语学校国际部 邮编:518053

Website:Shen Wai International School’s Website

Place Phone: 86 (755) 86541981/86541963

Email:[email protected]

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Shen Wai International School PYP Chinese Ensemble is Established Now

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