Information Meeting Handout
The following is a copy of the letter that was passed out at Thursday's information meeting.
Dear Student and Parents,
Thank you for your interest in the Still Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl team. The purpose of this letter is to make sure everyone understands the purpose of this student activity.
The Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl is a competition, not a reading club. Students read from the list of books, write 10 questions from the book while they are reading, and then share these questions with the other team members. Students are quizzed on their knowledge of the books using a “lock out” buzzer, so quick recall of information about the books is important. The books used in the competition are the Georgia Children’s Book Award Nominees. You can get more information about how these books are chosen at this site:
http://www.coe.uga.edu/gcba/
Helen Ruffin, a media specialist in the Dekalb County School System, started the competition. It has since spread to counties all over the state of Georgia with competition at 4 levels, resulting in a state winner in elementary, middle school, and high school divisions. You can get more information about the competition at this site:
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/hrrb/
We have a large number of students wanting to participate, but in the end, only ten students per school are allowed to compete. It is very important that parents and students understand this. The purpose of our weekly meetings (when we return to school in August) will be to share our knowledge of the books, to discuss the books, and to practice using the “lock out” buzzer used in competition.
So, how is the competition team chosen? The criteria for choosing our ten competitors include:
• Attending as many meetings as possible
• Reading as many of the 18 books as possible
• Writing and typing the 10 questions and answers for the books you read
• Success and comfort level with the “lock out” buzzer (an important competition component)
• Exemplary behavior during the meetings
• Parent will be able to provide transportation to the competition on January 30, 2010
The reading list for next year includes 18 books with AR levels of 3.5 to 5.9. We do not want to discourage anyone who is interested, but in order to be able to competently read and understand these books, your Star reading test level should be a solid fourth grade reading level or higher. There are only 3 books on the list in a third grade range and 6 of the books are on the fifth grade level. AR tests for the books are already in our system and students will be able to take tests on the books when we return in August.
A list of next year’s books is attached. You may try to check these books out from the public library, but since many schools in this part of Cobb County have a team, it is often difficult to get a copy of the book you want. I recommend going to Amazon.com and purchasing used copies of the books you want to read over the summer. Another idea is to get together with a friend who is also reading from the list, and plan to order and swap different books from the list. We will have a limited number of copies of the books available when school begins next year. I have indicated particular titles to read first as we will begin buzzer practice in September and questions will come from those titles.
So, here’s what you can do over the summer…
• Read the books from the list that I have suggested to read first
• Write 10 questions, the answers, and the page number where the answer is found
• Enjoy reading the books and swap with a friend!
• Discuss what you’re reading with a parent or friend
• Parents, you can help by typing your child’s questions & answers in a two-column format and discussing the book with them
If you lose your copy of the book list, I will have it posted on my Still blog page over the summer. Just go into the Still website and find the list of teachers. Click on Nan Gabrielli to reach my blog.
I’m very excited to get such an early start for next year! Hopefully there will be other teachers working with us, but no one has committed to helping us yet.
Enjoy your summer, and happy reading!!
Nan Gabrielli
HRRB Coach
Vivian.gabrielli@cobbk12.org
