National Creative Writing Challenge for Grade 4 & 5 students to create community news stories
Write to Read: A National Creative Writing Contest
World Literacy of Canada’s Write To Read Challenge at http://www.worldlit.ca/w2r07.html
Deadline: February 29, 2008
The theme for 2007, “In the News”, requires children to research local folklore or history, and write a story about humorous or bizarre ‘news’ reports in their community.
OUTLINE
Write to Read is an innovative family literacy program developed by World Literacy of Canada in consultation with grassroots literacy providers and educators. It is delivered in the form of an annual national writing contest for children in Grade 4 and 5. Building bridges between the family, community and school, the Write to Read program is a holistic activity enabling even reluctant writers to be successful authors. The themes and nature of the contest invite family, school and community participation. Students must research and consult with family and/or community members to develop their stories based on local or family history, geography or culture. Winning submissions are then published in a short book and shared with kids and educators in schools and libraries all across the country.
ABOUT WORLD LITERACY OF CANADA
Founded in 1955, World Literacy of Canada is the oldest literacy organization in Canada with an international component. WLC is an incorporated non-profit and a registered charity.
Mission: WLC takes a holistic approach to literacy, collaborating with other organizations to engage the public, conduct advocacy, and develop and deliver literacy programs. With literacy as our ‘point of entry,’ we aim to alleviate poverty and create a more sustainable world in which families are empowered to gain greater social equality and economic independence.
GOALS OF THE WRITE TO READ PROJECT
- To engage children and their families in literacy skills development.
- To encourage children’s sense of pride in their own writing by providing them with an opportunity to have their stories published and shared with other kids.
- To augment the existing school curriculum with a fun and exciting activity that connects school, family and community.
- To deliver an accessible contest model that can involve high achievers but also can provide a successful outcome for reluctant writers, second-language learners, and special education students.
- To help address the ongoing challenge of limited access to books and other educational resources in small, remote and under-served Canadian communities.
PROJECT DESIGN AND DELIVERY
The Write to Read project evolved naturally from existing partnerships with grassroots literacy organizations and literacy networks across Canada. Our partners were interested in helping us build the bridges needed to connect students’ writing success with the home, family and community. In consultation with classroom teachers and literacy experts, WLC developed the format for the Write to Read program.
Target Group: Grade 4 and 5 is a critical period in literacy development. In Grade 4 and 5, students are required to write independently, having mastered the basics in the primary grades. Curriculum guidelines suggest that students begin their first research projects at this level. Engagement and success at independent writing will lay the groundwork for student success in future years.
Inclusiveness of the Project: Students are asked to use only 150 words and 6-8 pictures to tell their story. This task was chosen by a panel of literacy experts to enable successful completion even by lowlevel Grade 4 students and special education students. This is consistent with World Literacy of Canada’s mandate of inclusive education.
The project also reaches out to reluctant writers who may be more engaged by graphic arts and/or computer animation. Students who struggle with writing in the classroom are sometimes very engaged by comic books or the Internet. This project connects these students’ favorite activities to a literacy activity by inviting them to draw their stories as well as write them and also presents the opportunity for publication.
Contest Themes – Building Bridges Between School and Family: Contest themes and requirements for the Write to Read project are developed through consultation with literacy experts and professional educators. From year to year, our aim is to develop a model that will require young writers to work with family and/or community mentors in researching topics for their writing.
In 2005 the contest theme, “Stories from my Family”, asked young writers to talk to their families about family stories - profound, historical, or humorous - and to choose one story to use in creating a brief storybook. The theme was widely praised by educators for its ability to invite families of disparate cultural backgrounds into the writing process.
The 2006 contest theme, “Journeys”, was also well received. This time we invited children to tell stories about journeys their family had made in coming to Canada or to their present community. Some participants also wrote stories about other journeys they have taken - real or imaginary - to all sorts of interesting and exciting places.
The theme we have planned for 2007 is “In the News”. This theme will require children to research local folklore or history, and write a story about humorous or bizarre ‘news’ reports in their community.
PUBLICATION OF AWARD-WINNING STORIES
Each year, the award-winning stories are published in a soft-cover children’s storybook which we then distribute free of charge to schools and libraries all across the country. The book is professionally produced and includes artists’ renditions of the children’s stories as well as translations of each story into both official languages.
In 2005, we also produced a multimedia CD-ROM of children’s stories. This new format took the publication of the contest winners’ stories into an exciting new media and gave a more professional look and feel to the product. Creation of this CD-ROM was made possible through the corporate funding we received during that project year. In 2006, however, without support from a major corporate sponsor we once again opted to produce a soft-cover book.
Feedback from teachers indicates that there is no preference for one format over, though some parents have expressed concerns that not all families have access to the technologies necessary for use of the CD-ROM. With this in mind, in 2007 we plan to produce only the soft-cover book, but we are also considering the addition of a value-added “For the Teacher” section containing lesson plans and other suggestions designed to augment classroom writing instruction. A similar resource was available on the 2005 Write to Read CD-ROM.
CONTEST PRIZES
Through the generosity of a number of Canadian publishers and office supplies stores, in past years WLC has been able to provide Write to Read prize-winners with gift bags of literacy related prizes such as books, journals, calendars and school supplies.
All winners also receive their own copy of the Write to Read Collection and a beautiful certificate that proud parents will frame and keep on their walls for years to come.
COMMUNICATION PLAN
The contest is promoted through a grassroots campaign to school boards, direct school contacts, major media sponsorships and through World Literacy of Canada’s national network of community projects.
The Write to Read contest is bilingual and the winning stories are all published in both official languages.