From a digital library to regular reading in Nanchang

“Hui” represents the four seasons; “Zhi” creates a reading platform – the Smart Reading Platform helps students develop good reading habits.  

Gong Yanqin, Guo Ruixia  

Nanchang Qingxin Primary School  

Abstract:Reading is not only a journey of knowledge exploration, but also a haven that nourishes the soul. Reading has become a ladder for self-improvement and a window to connect with the world. The Smart Reading Platform, by creating digital resource libraries, overcomes the physical limitations of paper books—such as their susceptibility to damage and difficulty in long-term storage—and addresses the problem of limited resources for family libraries. Teachers can use the platform’s analysis system to accurately determine the direction of reading instruction; students, on the other hand, can expand their reading horizons through the platform, enabling them to engage in multi-dimensional self-study, thereby allowing knowledge acquisition to go beyond the boundaries of the classroom.    

Keywords:Smart reading; habit formation; self-directed learning    

In this era when the digital transformation is reshaping the educational landscape, it is crucial for educators to figure out how to enable students to engage in self-directed learning using intelligent reading platforms, thereby facilitating their efficient development. As a typical example of educational digital transformation, the intelligent reading platform creates a multi-dimensional and sophisticated learning environment, thereby redefining the approach to literacy-oriented learning. This platform not only achieves intelligent improvement in text comprehension through natural language processing technologies, but also builds personalized reading development models using machine learning algorithms.  

1. Spring sowing – Nurturing hope  

Spring is a season filled with vitality and hope. It is just like the mission of education – to sow hope and nurture the future. During this time of spring planting, we need to help students develop good reading habits, cultivate their minds, and expect them to grow healthily.  

(1) Social dimension – A comprehensive intelligent reading ecosystem for all members of society  

On March 28, 2023, on the first anniversary of the launch of the “National Smart Education Public Service Platform”, the “National Smart Education Reading Platform” was officially launched. Leveraging digital technologies, the “National Smart Education Reading Platform” brings together high-quality resources, creates interactive environments, and displays reading achievements. It provides a variety of reading opportunities for students at different educational stages as well as for the general public.  

On March 5, 2025, during the National People’s Congress and the National Committee for Political Consultation, “strengthening reading activities for all citizens” was once again included in the government work report. The progression from “promoting reading among all citizens” to “further promoting reading among all citizens,” and now to “strengthening reading activities for all citizens,” reflects the increasing importance of reading among citizens in the country’s cultural development strategy. It also sets new requirements for the promotion of reading among all citizens.  

(II) At the school level – a digital and intelligent reading education system  

In order to effectively implement the requirements of the “National Youth Students’ Reading Program Implementation Plan” and the “Jiangxi Province Youth Students’ Reading Work Plan”, and to foster a “smart reading and scholarly campus” environment, the school encourages all teachers and students to use the “National Smart Education Reading Platform” and the “Nanchang Smart Reading Platform” to help students form connections with books and enjoy reading time. Through activities such as book reading, online activities, and class reading sessions, the school aims to further promote reading activities across the entire institution, enrich students’ reading experiences, create a positive atmosphere for reading among all teachers and students, and contribute to the establishment of reading-friendly classes and campuses.  

(3) At the student level – a system for developing lifelong learning competencies  

The author conducted a questionnaire survey on the current situation of extracurricular reading among students in the second and sixth grades, highlighting the new challenges related to students’ reading.  

1. Results of the survey on students’ level of enjoyment in reading.

According to the survey results, two-thirds of the students enjoy reading, one-third of the students have an indifferent attitude toward reading, and only a small number of students are not interested in reading at all.  

2. Results of the survey on the types of books that students prefer to read.

This is a multiple-choice question. According to the survey results, students prefer books that involve adventure, fantasy, and fairy tales. Books about history and biographies are also very popular among students.  

3. Results of surveys on what students discuss or how they feel about the books they read, in relation to others (parents, classmates, teachers, etc.).

According to the survey results, only a small number of students express their feelings about the content they read. Therefore, students’ enthusiasm for sharing their thoughts after reading needs to be enhanced.  

4. Results of the students’ survey on book selection.

This is a multiple-choice question. According to the survey reports, more than half of the students choose books based on recommendations from teachers or classmates, as well as on the relevant classroom knowledge. It can also be seen that a large number of students prefer to choose books based on their own interests and preferences. However, the proportion of books recommended through online sources is relatively low. Therefore, teachers can use platforms such as the “National Smart Education Reading Platform” and the “Nanchang Smart Reading Platform” to recommend books suitable for students.  

In the world of education, we are all “farmers” who cultivate the hearts of children, hoping that they will grow up healthily. However, education cannot be achieved overnight; eagerness for quick results only disrupts the natural rhythm of life. Education requires respecting the developmental laws of students’ physical and mental health, as well as understanding their individual characteristics.  

In this vibrant spring season, we should encourage children to cherish their time for reading, participate in “seeding” activities, and understand that the seasonal changes of spring are closely related to people’s lives. By reading, they can absorb more “nutrients” to experience the wonder of life returning to its natural state. At the same time, it is important to help them develop good learning habits and foster a correct perspective on learning and time management.  

II. Summer busy season – full of enthusiasm  

In the busyness of summer, the task of education becomes even more demanding, but also more meaningful. As teachers, we need to provide them with sufficient support and guidance, so that students can pursue their goals with enthusiasm during this season.  

(1) Education – Empowering teachers with “wisdom” to facilitate their professional development  

In the context of “Internet + Education”, intelligent reading platforms create a comprehensive learning environment for teachers’ professional development. It is an imperative of the times to let intelligence guide the professional growth of teachers. Schools fully understand the importance of establishing the “National Primary and Secondary School Intelligent Education Platform”. They provide additional training and guidance, thereby leveraging the platform’s role in teacher development. The “National Primary and Secondary School Intelligent Education Platform” covers 12 different learning areas, including moral education, curriculum teaching, and teacher training. The “Teacher Training” section includes 10 sub-items such as teacher ethics and conduct, general training, subject-specific training, and assignment design. These activities focus on enhancing teachers’ professional qualities, subject-specific expertise, and basic skills. The content is comprehensive and rich; it not only helps teachers update their educational concepts and gain a better understanding of the direction and goals of educational reform, but also improves teachers’ teaching methods, promoting their overall and individualized development.  

During the winter and summer breaks each year, schools organize teachers to actively participate in professional development courses. These courses provide training on the moral standards and professional conduct of teachers, helping them to uphold high ethical standards and adhere to the fundamental principles of being a teacher. At the same time, these courses guide teachers in using platform resources to explore various methods and approaches for teaching research. The aim is to improve teachers’ digital literacy, so that the effectiveness of the platform can be maximized.  

In order to further promote the development of reading activities across the city of Nanchang and create a positive atmosphere for reading among all citizens, Nanchang City has carried out various reading activities through the “Nanchang Smart Reading Platform”. These include activities such as the “Hongcheng Huiyue Reading” event for teachers and students to showcase their reading skills, the “Fragrant Books in Hongcheng – Enjoying Good Time” spring-themed reading activities for schools, and classes focused on the importance of reading. Teachers and students are encouraged to read books. Through the “Joint Reading Class” model, reading activities, videos explaining works by famous authors, extended reading experiences, discussions and sharing, as well as personal creative work, are integrated into these classes. The purpose of these activities is to help teachers develop their cultural literacy through reading, to enable them to think about effective teaching methods in light of real situations. By engaging in joint reading, discussion, and sharing, teachers and students can support each other and grow together.  

In order to promote and implement the Smart Reading initiatives, our district has organized various types of offline training and promotion activities related to Smart Reading. For example: “True Reading, Joyful Sharing” – a exhibition of reading achievements by teachers and students in Qingshanhu District in 2024; “Lighting the Way, Meeting Beauty” – mental health reading sharing sessions; joint reading activities among schools in the area; and Smart Reading training sessions. Through these diverse activities, a rich reading atmosphere is created, making every corner of schools a space for knowledge sharing and a platform to stimulate the inspiration and interest of teachers and students in reading.  

(II) Reflection – Nourishing the heart with wisdom, and deeply ingrained in the cultural heritage of literature  

As a teacher, I always believe that if a child develops the habit of reading throughout their life, they will surely achieve great things in the future.  

In April, when the spring weather is pleasant, it is the perfect time for reading. “Reading is the best journey in spring.” The Curriculum Standards for Chinese Language Education during the compulsory education stage recommend that students be encouraged to read more, read good books, and read complete books. This helps them develop good reading habits and accumulate experience in reading complete books.  

A large portion of the students in Qingshanhu District come from migrant workers and children left behind at home. They face various challenges, such as a weak reading foundation, lack of parental supervision, no suitable reading materials at home, low reading skills, and weak motivation to study. Teachers in these schools use the “Nanchang Smart Reading Platform” to implement a “targeted support + home-school cooperation” approach. Through this platform, teachers can automatically assign “10 minutes per day” reading tasks at different levels; students can also choose picture books they are interested in to read. The Smart Reading Platform is an ideal tool for teachers to encourage reading outside of class hours. Teachers can monitor students’ reading progress from behind the scenes, and they can promptly encourage those who haven’t finished reading, thereby turning reading into a “smart haven” for the mental development of children living in temporary situations.  

In accordance with the reading requirements of the new curriculum standards, after understanding the students’ learning situations, the class has compiled a “Reading Recommendation List” based on the “Reading Guidance Catalog for Primary and Middle School Students” issued by the Basic Education Curriculum and Textbooks Development Center of the Ministry of Education, as well as the Chinese language textbooks for each grade level, “Happy Reading Corner”. Students are encouraged to choose supplementary reading materials to increase their reading volume.  

For example, in “Happy Reading Time” in the first volume of the second grade textbook, the extracurricular books that students should read are: “The Lonely Crab”, “The ‘Headed-awry’ Wooden Post”, “A Cat Who Wants to Fly”, “The Little House of the Dog”, and “The Little Carp Jumping Over the Dragon Gate”. We can recommend these books to children through the audio library available on the Nanchang Smart Reading Platform.  

For example, when reading “The Rainbow Flower” – a recommended extracurricular book in the “Happy Reading” section of the second grade textbook for the second semester – students can also participate in the “Book Sea Challenges” reading activities organized during the 2025 “Hongcheng Huiyue Reading” spring event. Each challenge includes a guided video and audio content. After reading the recommended books, students begin to complete the challenges. The “seeds” they plant during these challenges will grow over time. Once all challenges are completed, they will receive a “Star Traces Achievement Certificate”. Such challenges help to stimulate children’s interest in reading and help them develop the habit of reading independently.  

For example, in the second-grade second-semester textbook, we learned about “Traditional Festivals”. We can combine this with the “History”-themed tasks related to the “Hongcheng Huiyue Reading” winter vacation activity in 2025. Students can then read relevant books to understand the historical culture of Chinese New Year. This includes the origins of New Year, its development over time, legends and traditions, etc. They can also participate in interesting quiz activities.  

(3) Action – Applying “creativity” to practical use, thereby activating the momentum for reading and growth  

“Those who master language and reading can achieve success in everything. Those who master reading can also master language.” In today’s era of fragmented reading, how to stimulate children’s interest in reading through innovative methods is the biggest challenge faced by teachers. Starting from the third grade, the standardized textbooks include three special learning units: strategy units, writing units, and comprehensive learning units. The strategy units focus on reading, providing students with guidance on reading strategies. The reading strategy learning system in primary school covers various strategies such as prediction, questioning, summarization, and annotation, gradually improving students’ reading abilities.  

The level of reading proficiency among students varies greatly. Some children can easily handle books containing hundreds of thousands of words, while others find it extremely difficult. In response to this situation, teachers can use intelligent reading platforms to organize reading activities before, during, and after class. Before class, reading préparatory sheets are provided for students to study independently; the platform records students’ learning behaviors and progress, enabling teachers to receive feedback in a timely manner so that they can understand how well students have prepared for the lesson. During class, teachers provide targeted guidance and assistance based on the students’ preparatory efforts, guiding them to engage in deep, hierarchical learning and independent cooperative exploration. After class, teachers send personalized reading resources and related reading tasks to assess students’ understanding of the material, thereby reinforcing their reading skills and helping teachers understand the students’ learning progress.  

“Happy Reading Corner” for Grade 2 – It involves reading children’s stories. The content focuses on stimulating students’ interest in reading, cultivating reading habits, helping them learn basic reading methods, and encouraging them to share their reading achievements. Teachers can use the “Learning Tong” APP to recommend books related to the “Happy Reading Corner” section in the Chinese language textbooks for compulsory education. For example, in the “Big Head Son and Little Head Dad” section, there are four categories: ePub format for reading, introductions to the books, learning courses, and overall book evaluations.  

“Online + Offline” hybrid teaching model: Teachers can use the platform to understand students’ learning assessments and monitor their progress in real time. Teachers can implement a “online + offline” teaching approach, engaging in discussions with students regarding the questions they got wrong, and providing targeted explanations and guidance on those questions, thereby improving the quality and efficiency of teaching.  

Parent-child reading: Students are asked to recommend books they have read together. These recommendations are recorded in the form of short videos and text, which helps improve their ability to express themselves and their comprehension skills. Additionally, it provides more opportunities for parents and children to communicate, allowing them to share their enjoyment of reading, thereby encouraging children to love reading and creating beautiful memories.  

Through these methods, intelligent reading platforms can not only improve students’ reading abilities, but also stimulate their interest in reading, helping them develop good reading habits. As a result, a comprehensive improvement in reading literacy can be achieved.  

III. Autumn harvest – The fruits of the labor  

In autumn, after the planting in spring and the flourishing in summer, we look forward together to the emergence of every seed from the ground. We share every beautiful moment of growth. We transform the good books read during holidays into valuable educational materials, so as to inspire and nurture the souls of children. Together, we await the abundant harvest.  

(1) The Watchman in the Wheat Field – Exhibition of Teachers’ Reading Guidance Achievements  

Through the integration of online smart reading platforms in the cloud and the collaboration with offline classrooms, one of the authors won the third prize in the “Hongcheng Huiyuedu” Second Teacher Reading Competition for Primary and Secondary Schools in Nanchang City in 2023. During the “Hongcheng Huiyuedu” Teacher Training Program for Primary and Secondary Schools in Nanchang City, this author was awarded the title of “Hongcheng Huiyuedu Junior Reading Instructor”. Another author gave a lecture titled “Lighting the Way with Heart, Cultivating Beauty” at the “True Reading, Joyful Sharing” Teacher Achievement Exhibition in Qingshanhu District. During the “Hongcheng Huiyuedu” Summer Reading Program in Nanchang City in 2023, and the “Hongcheng Huiyuedu” Winter Reading Program in Nanchang City in 2024, this author was recognized as a “Hongcheng Huiyuedu Teacher Leader”, and also received the third prize for outstanding cases in smart education in Nanchang City in 2023. These awards and honors are closely related to the regular training and learning activities that the authors engage in.  

(II) The “Terraced Fields of Thought” – A yearbook of students’ reading achievements  

Through reading, students can upload mind maps, comics, handwritten newspapers, reading notes, reflections, reading sharing videos, and writing works they have created, on the intelligent reading platform.  

A variety of diverse reading activities are carried out in classes and on campus. Examples include “The fragrance of books nourishes children’s hearts; children draw their dreams with their hands”, “Book recommendation cards to nourish the heart”, “Creating character profiles to deepen reading experience”, and “Drawing mind maps”. Through the collection of reading materials, students carefully design bookmarks and reading magazines, and thus create numerous reading works that are rich in content and diverse in form.  

At the same time, students can use the Smart Reading Platform to log their reading activities, create their own reading spaces, and upload their reading reflections and notes, thereby forming a personal record of their reading progress. Regular reading activities can be organized in the class, such as “Reading Expert” events and book-sharing sessions. The Smart Reading Platform is used to organize students to participate in these activities, encouraging them to keep their reading records and showcasing their reading achievements. A series of reward policies have also been established in the class: “Reading Star” awards are given for daily logging; monthly awards are given to the “Best Little Reader”, “Reading Family”, and “Reading Expert”. Additionally, the Class Optimization Master can give extra points to students for certain achievements, such as 10 points for reading 10,000 characters, and 100 points for reading 100,000 characters. These points can be used to buy prizes that students desire at the class supermarket.  

The students actively participated in the “Hongcheng Huiyue Reading” reading activity for primary and secondary schools in Nanchang. They visited Nanchang Xinhua Bookstore, explored the beauty of reading, and completed various tasks continuously. Several students were awarded the title of “Hongcheng Huiyue Reading: Young Scholars of the Bookish Spirit”.  

IV. Winter leisure – Reflecting on gains and losses  

Although everything lies dormant during winter, it also nurtures the vitality for the coming year. As teachers, we cannot focus solely on students’ academic performance, while ignoring their emotional and psychological needs. During the process of students reading, teachers need to engage in more reflective teaching, respect the laws of student development, and understand their physical and mental characteristics. In today’s context, we should slow down, truly understand the principles of education, and help students plan their reading time wisely, enabling them to learn independently and cooperatively. The application of intelligent education platforms in reading instruction for primary school students can provide various benefits, offering significant support to both teachers’ teaching methods and students’ learning processes. Through diverse learning resources, learning methods, intelligent teaching tools, and evaluation systems, teachers can improve their teaching skills, stimulate students’ interest in learning, and thus lay a solid foundation for the development of future educational reforms.

Standing on the three-foot podium, we should have the hope of spring planting, the enthusiasm of summer work, and the abundance of autumn harvest. Moreover, we need the tranquility and growth that come with winter. Reading is not something that can be achieved overnight; it requires persistent effort over time. Let’s wait patiently for the flowers to bloom!