Overview
Get Caught Reading contests can coincide with an of the national reading/library events like: I Love to Read Month (February), National Library Week (April), or Get Caught Reading Month (May). This contest promotes the fun of reading books by challenging students to figure out who the staff member is that is reading their favorite book.
Planning
Photographs will be taken of staff members reading their favorite book.The book should cover face, but should include identifying characteristics that will give the students clues.Students will turn in their guesses by filling out a voting ballot that can be paper-based or digital.A drawing will be held at the end of the event to determine the winner of the contest. In addition, students that are “caught reading” will be given coupons by their teachers that they can turn into the library for a treat.
Promotion
The event will be promoted using the following tools:
· Posters in the library and hallways
Library Display
Social Media
Daily Announcements & Weekly Broadcast (1-2 weeks prior)
Principal Email to Parents
School Marquee
Preparations
Staff email will need to be sent out 4-6 weeks before event scheduling time to make book selections and take photos.Create and Organize a calendar or spreadsheet to schedule appoints for this. Create posters and other promotional materials 2-3 weeks prior to the event, which includes voting ballots, reading coupons, and prizes for both challenges.Contact vendors for free books to be used as prizes.
Procedures
Librarian will introduce and promote the contest through the promotion tools listed, put up a bulletin board with the staff images, and distribute the reading coupons to all teachers.
Students will fill out a voting ballot and identify each teacher in the reading challenge. Each student may only vote once, so encourage them to identify as many teachers as possible before voting.
Voting could occur during lunch or ELA class periods.
Votes will be tallied by the librarian at the end of the contest and winners will be announced at the end of the week. Students will take a picture with any of the staff members they identified and the book that was being read. This story will be highlighted on the broadcast.
All winners of the Teacher Challenge will receive a prize and be entered into a drawing for the Grand Prize. The Grand Prize will include a book bag, bookmarks, YA Books, and a gift card from Barnes & Noble
Students will also be challenged to read throughout the day as long as it’s not during instructional time.
Any student “caught reading” by a staff member will be given a coupon to redeem for a treat in the library. These students will be eligible for a drawing to win a gift card from Barnes & Noble
The library display will be updated to show the winners from both competitions
Payoff
Students will be encouraged to read more by observing that their teachers love to read for pleasure outside of school. It will get them excited to learn about their teacher’s favorite books and discover that they may want to read them as well.This will encourage conversations about books and reading with students.The 2nd part of the challenge encourages students to read in their free time and the prizes will give them an opportunity to add new books to their collection or start their very first collection.
REFERENCES
Get Caught Reading https://getcaughtreading.org/
Every Child a Reader https://everychildareader.net/
Caught Reading Month Activities https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/caught-reading-month
I Love to Read Month https://theappliciousteacher.com/28-ways-to-celebrate-i-love-to-read-month/
National Library Week https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek
Free Books