Curriculum and Instruction Action Item |
DATE: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent
SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The elementary program began 13 years ago with 6 schools participating and has grown to 130 schools participating last year. This year, we are expecting 135 elementary schools to compete in the Battle which is an exciting and fun way to foster good reading habits.
During the school year students read the current Sunshine State Young Readers titles, and in the spring the students at participating schools are given a written Qualifying Test to select each class Battle of the Books Team. The test is to determine which students are the most familiar with all the stories from the books on the list. Following the testing, the competition to be the district winning team begins when schools have their local battle. During the battle, the students must answer questions correctly about the plots, characters, and settings of each book to score points for their teams. The winning team from each school moves on to participate in the Area Battle which will be held at the Tampa Convention Center on May 15, 2008. The winning team from each of the seven areas then competes in the District Battle to determine the winning team. The District Battle, attended by approximately 550 students, will be held on May 22, 2008 at one of the district high schools.
The purpose of the Battle of the Books program is to encourage recreational reading, to offer a variety of types of literature, to increase familiarity with different authors, and to share books through written and oral expression. Research has found that students who participate in free voluntary or recreational reading did as well or better in reading comprehension tests than students whose only source of reading was classroom basal reading instruction. It has also been proven that reading as a leisure activity is the best predictor of comprehension, vocabulary, and reading speed.
ANNUAL DISTRICT GOAL(S) AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S)
FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted: Yes)
EVALUATION
SUBMITTED BY:
Barbara B. Hancock, General Director, Elementary Education
Barbara Rooks, Supervisor, Elementary Media
Michael A. Grego, Ed.D.
Assistant Superintendent, Curriculum and Instruction (813) 272-4221 |
Gretchen Saunders
Chief Business Officer (813) 272-4270 |
A 5.11 | |
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20080318_290 * Section A Item# 5.11 |