by Will Peters, Bookji Founder
Sep 4, 2021
From my experience as a student, there are many types of readers. Every child has different reading habits and interests, which, from a teaching perspective, makes it difficult to determine the best way to approach each student individually. However, reading analytics can help educators uncover strengths and weakness that may have gone unnoticed. This is why providing teachers with analytics can be a game changer in the classroom.
So what data points can we provide for our teachers to help children of all levels become better readers?
Take, for example, a student who already loves to read--a bookworm. Normally, these students are not given as much attention by teachers because they are already showing promise with their reading. However, there is room for improvement in every student and data can shine a light on these areas.
It may be the case that a specific student reads a lot of books but all their choices are from the same or similar genres. As a developing reader, it is ideal that children read about different perspectives and explore new genres even if they are reading large amounts. An analytical or graphical representation of the genres a certain student reads over time can help teachers identify if that student should expand their horizons in terms of the types of books they are reading. This can also help teachers measure improvements as time goes on and keep a record of their reading habits to assist them in the future.
For the students who don't love to read, teachers require a different set of data points to assist with their reading. Kids who are stubborn readers oftentimes have trouble finding the right book. Providing teachers with analytics about the type of books they are viewing online can be useful in determining what they are looking for.
Stubborn readers might also have had bad experiences with reading in the past. Maybe these students are reading books too far above their level and aren't able to comprehend the text. If teachers could see what percent of books each student has read above, below or in the range of their reading level, it would make it easier for teachers to assist each student individually.
Most of all, analytics provide an efficient and highly personalized way for educators to help students. Within a short and easy glance, teachers should be able to get an overview of a child's reading habits. Just as a CEO can see analytics detailing the operations of a company, an educator should be able use these same tools in the classroom to make teaching more efficient. So how can this be done?
Bookji accomplishes this goal by providing a platform where young readers can search for books, rate books, and keep track of the books they have read in a fun and modern way. The platform then delivers and presents this data to teachers in a way that is easy to visualize.
With Bookji, educators can see Lexile Reading Level info for each student. Bookji displays which books students have read that are above, below, and in the range of their Lexile Level and compares these percentages to their classmates. Educators can also see which books students want to read and if those books are in the range of their current reading level.
Bookji also allows educators to see a break down of the student's genres read over time. Teachers also get a genre breakdown of the books on each students reading list and the books they have simply viewed on Bookji.
Sometimes it's helpful to get a quick overview of a student's reading interests. For each student, Bookji create a 'reading profile' that displays what genres each student likes best as well as what emojis (or emotions) best describe the books they like.
Sign up you school or class now to take advantage of the analytical tools Bookji provides to help each and every one of your students become a better reader.