Approve License Contract with the Tampa Convention Center to Host the 2008 Elementary School Battle of the Books, Area Competition, May 15, 2008 - $7,000 (Curriculum and Instruction Division)

We request approval of the License Contract with the Tampa Convention Center to conduct the 2008 Elementary Battle of the Books, Area Competition on May 15, 2008. The Elementary Battle of the Books is a districtwide reading enrichment program for students in Grade 4.

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.

Goal 1 - The percentage of students scoring at Level 3 or higher on FCAT reading will increase a minimum of 5 percentage points.

Funds of $7,000 to cover the cost of renting the Tampa Convention Center will be donated by Tandem Books.

Records will be kept on the number of students and schools participating in the 2007/2008 Elementary School Battle of the Books.