Several weeks ago , Sun Valley Elementary teacher Katelyn Hoffman started an assessment on her students to monitor their progress during the 2018 Books and Brackets reading challenge .
One month after the Books and Brackets kickoff celebration , Katelyn said she ’ s already seen the effects of the wildly popular reading challenge in all of her students , including one student who has experienced challenges with reading throughout the school year .
“ That student ’ s fluency went up almost 20 words from before Books and Brackets ,” Katelyn said . “ We ’ re noticing that not only are our students ’ fluency growing but their vocabulary is growing and they ’ re doing a better job with sticking with the text and trying to sound out those tricky words . This has really been beneficial to our students .”
Patterned after the March Madness basketball competition , Books and Brackets allowed all 30 of Union County Public Schools ’ elementary schools to compete in a five-week reading challenge . During the past month , the playing field had been narrowed down to the Elite Eight , which includes Antioch , Indian Trail , Kensington , Marshville , New Town , Rocky River , Sun Valley and Wesley Chapel elementary schools .
From dance parties to read-athons to mystery book scavenger hunts , UCPS elementary schools have found creative ways to encourage and celebrate their students during the Books and Brackets challenge . With the competition heating up among the final schools , it ’ s not uncommon to see students trying to get a few
Books and Brackets reading challenge has far-reaching benefits for all students
From dance parties to read-a-thons to mystery book scavenger hunts , all 30 UCPS elementary schools have found creative ways to encourage and celebrate their students during the Books and Brackets challenge .
extra reading minutes in during lunchtime or on their way to the bus lot .
In fact , third and fourth graders have read nearly 9 million minutes since the challenge began on Feb . 15 .
“ The original intent of this initiative was to encourage and highlight a love of literacy and to reengage students in the joy of reading ,” said UCPS Superintendent Dr . Andrew Houlihan . “ The
enthusiasm that we ’ re seeing across the county and with our student performance data – we know it ’ s making a difference .”
Reading is the most crucial skill a person can have because it sets them up for success in the future , said UCPS Instructional Coach Bryan McKenzie . When students are reading independently , they are constantly thinking and putting to use all of the strategies that they have been taught over the years .
“ A lot of cognitive work is going on while they ’ re reading , and that ’ s definitely a positive thing ,” he said . “ Oftentimes there is a lot of energy and hype around athletics , but to put a lot of excitement and enthusiasm around reading really spotlights independent reading in a fun way and it puts it out there in the public eye . It creates a lot of positive energy around reading , so hopefully the students will find a way to keep that momentum going when they get home .”
What many people may not realize about the Books and Brackets reading challenge , Katelyn said , is that the benefits have been far-reaching for all students . It has helped build their self-esteem , she said , and provides all students with an opportunity to be recognized and celebrated for their hard work .
“ We ’ ve been able to build all of our students up through Books and Brackets and make them feel even better about reading than they did before ,” Katelyn said . “ With our students who are our struggling readers , Books and Brackets has given them as well as all of our students an opportunity to be celebrated and find a love for reading .”
2 • May / June 2018 • Parent Teacher Magazine