What is the Dandelion School Program?

The goal is to inculcate the love of reading in young children by providing them with handpicked storybooks each month that come with complementary reading resources and post-reading activities at an affordable rate. It is:
  • ​A comprehensive Chinese reading program for schools
  • Designed for Primary 1, 2 & 3
  • Customizable to suit the needs of each school and level
  • A level-wide ​subscription program
  • 1 or more issues a month - ​Includes book rental, bookmarks, online resources & post-reading activity worksheets
  • Includes collection of student work for feedback by us
  • Includes free demonstration workshop for parents of subscribing level(s)

How It Works

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1. Dandelion works with school to customize reading program that suits needs of students
When a school subscribes to Dandelion for 1 or more levels, we speak to the school to understand the needs of its students and customize a reading program that is suitable for it. This gives the school control over the nature, scope and goal(s) of the reading program.
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2. Books, reading passports and worksheets delivered to school each month
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3. Students get an account on our website to access complementary online resources
 Once the details of the reading program has been decided, each month, books, bookmarks and worksheets are delivered to school for each student in the program. The program utilizes a rental system - a book is rented to each student for a month (a title per level). This allows students to read high quality, physical books all year round at an affordable rate.  Students also receive a members' account on our website to access complementary reading resources online.
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​4. Reading takes place at home independently or with parent(s)
​Reading takes place outside of school.  Printed worksheets and online resources, such as an audio book version of storybooks; lists of useful vocabulary; and post reading activities, are provided to students to help them in independent learning.

Dandelion's school program also provides resources and materials for parents that assist them in reading with their child and holding meaningful discussions about the story. Through modelling and scaffolding by the parent, and dynamic interaction between parent and child, a rich reading session is achieved, thus extending learning beyond the book.
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5. Each book comes with a worksheet and post-reading activity to be completed at home
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6. Students' work and reading passports are collected by Dandelion for feedback and awarding of badges
Each book comes with a worksheet and post-reading activity to be completed by the student independently at home. Once completed, students' works are then collected by Dandelion. Feedback is given for each piece of work and a sticker badge is awarded for satisfactory completion of activity before they are returned to the school. In this way, students are motivate to read and complete activities, and provide teachers with a means of monitoring whether students are reading.
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7. Teacher can expand learning in class (optional) by using lesson packages provided
For teachers who wish to expand the post-reading activity for a book in class, lesson packages complete with suggested lesson plans and other materials are provided on our website for your convenience.

Students receive

  • Books (rented) and bookmarks delivered to school
  • Worksheets with comprehension and inference questions
  • Post-reading activity worksheets
  • Account on our website to access online resources related to books

Teachers receive

  • All items students receive
  • Teachers' account on our website to access ready-made lesson-plans and other resources

Online resources include

  • Audio Books
  • Story discussion guides
  • Post-reading activities
  • Useful vocabulary list with hanyu pinyin & definition
  • Lesson-plans and resources for teachers
  • Answer schemes for teachers

Feedback on students' work

  • Post-reading activities require students to produce a piece of work (artwork, short writing piece, etc)
  • Dandelion collects students' work and reading passports from school
  • We provide feedback on each piece of work and awards a badge on student's reading passport for completing activities
  • Students' work is then delivered to school.

Why Subscribe to the Dandelion School Program?

Customizable to suit the needs of each school
Many aspects of Dandelion's school program are customizable. Schools can choose to have a say in various elements of the program or adopt the ones pre-designed by our team of experienced, MOE-trained educators:​
  • Number of titles: If 1 or more levels are strong in the Chinese language, the school can choose to have it read 2 different books a month instead of the standard 1.
  • ​阅读小力士 worksheet: The school can decide on the nature and difficulty of  阅读小力士 that comes with each book.  Our team of teachers will then design questions based on what the school has specified for each level.
  • Post-reading extended learning activity: Teachers can choose whether or not to use class time for post-reading extended learning activity. This activity can also be adjusted according to the needs of the school.
More effective than a purely school-based reading program
  • It is designed to be done at home independently or with parents. This saves precious curricular time. Reading at home also means more time available for students to read and do related activities.
  • Our program is comprehensive and ready to use. Students can read independently with the aid of our audio books, complete worksheets and activities themselves and share what they have learnt with their parents.
  • When parents participate - reading, engaging in discussions and carrying out fun activities with their children at home associate reading with leisure and reinforces the reading habit in students.
  • Research shows parental involvement in creating a reading culture at home has a direct impact on a child’s academic performance, cognitive and social development (see Clark, Christina, Hawkins & Lucy, 2010).

Overview of the Program

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