English: Second Prize in the Nationwide Helbling Challenge

Participating in the Read & Listen Challenge organized by Helbling Publishing was a huge success for Class 6b at Steinmühle. For taking second place in the competition among all sixth-grade classes nationwide, Jael Bieber received a certificate (photo) and a check for 100 euros on behalf of all her classmates in Class 6b. The money will go toward the class fund.

Nearly all of Steinmühlen’s 6th-grade classes participated in the challenge, reported English teachers Theresa Großer and Stephan Steinebach, who observed a high level of enthusiasm among all participants. The assignment involved reading a book online as part of their homeschooling for two weeks and answering quiz questions about it. The students exchanged ideas via video conferences, discussing their answers to the questions. For the 6th-grade class, the assigned reading was “The Captain’s Castle” by Gavin Biggs, published by Helbling Verlag.

There were 12 chapters to read online. Each chapter included a short audio clip that provided clues about the villain in the exciting story—whom the children had to identify. The main task at the end of the story was to determine who the thief was and who was trying to steal the treasure in the castle. The children also had to figure out exactly where in the castle this treasure was hidden. The contest was conducted entirely through the interactive learning platform HELBLING e-zone.

Teachers Theresa Großer and Stephan Steinebach were delighted that the varied set of tasks was so well received by the students: “The children participated with great enthusiasm and high motivation.” In total, over 7,000 students from all over Germany took part in this exciting competition. The competition was held separately for grades 6, 7, and 8, each with a different set of tasks. Steinmühle is the only school in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district to have placed in the top 10 in one of these categories.