How many times has a teacher given you or your child a reading assignment? From kindergarten through college, students are handed a never-ending laundry list of books to read. And these books are important – most of them are, in fact, great, enduring pieces of literature.
But Read To Succeed is asking 6th, 7th, and 8th graders to turn the tables. The Rutherford County literacy non-profit wants to know what middle-school students would pick as a reading assignment for their peers.
The first annual Read To Succeed Write Now Essay Contest is accepting submissions through March 5. Essays should be 500 to 700 words long and submitted through http://readtosucceed.org/writenow or e-mailed to writenow@readtosucceed.org.
One winner will receive a $100 savings bond from MidSouth Bank, and one runner-up will receive a $50 savings bond from MidSouth Bank. Both the winner and runner-up will have their essays featured in The Daily News Journal. The top ten essays will be published in a ‘zine, distributed to the top ten entrants and their schools.
The judges for this contest include Sarah Porterfield, AmeriCorps VISTA for Read To Succeed, Jimmy Hart, the executive editor of The Daily News Journal, Dr. Jennifer Kates, writing professor at Middle Tennessee State University, Sandra Pineault, Read To Succeed volunteer and former teacher, and Andrea Hill, from MidSouth Bank.
So tell Read To Succeed what book should be required reading for all middle-schoolers. We’re not just talking about your favorite book—we mean the book that would bring something new or special to the lives of your fellow students. Think about the values, the lessons and the messages in the book.
Winners will be announced in April, and the winner and runner-up will be recognized at the 2011 Read To Succeed Read To Bee.