[Read more…] about Highlights from the 2019 Granite Battle of the Books District Competition
Rolling Meadows Elementary
Granite District Battle of the Books 2016-2017 Competition Winners
On April 13, 2017, over 50 student teams from 18 different elementary schools in Granite School District converged on Gearld Wright Elementary for the first annual Granite District Battle of the Books competition. Student teams went head-to-head in this “Family Feud”-style game, in which their knowledge of the 15 books on the official 2016-2017 reading lists was put to the test.
We congratulate all of the students who read and participated in the battles, whether in their school or at the district competition. We thank all of the media clerks, teachers, administrators, parent volunteers, and others who tirelessly supported this program and inspired our students to find excitement in reading.
Check out the winners of our 2016-2017 competitions!
3rd-4th Grade Winners
5th-6th Grade Winners
2017-2018 Battle of the Books Competition
Any who are interested in learning how their school can participate in next year’s Battle of the Books program are invited to one of two informational meetings which will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017, at your choice of 12:00-12:30 PM and 2:00-2:30 PM. These meetings will be held at the Educational Technology Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) at 5300 West Cherrywood Lane, West Valley City, UT 84120.
If you have any questions about Battle of the Books, please contact Nikki Gregerson, District Elementary Library Supervisor in the Educational Technology department.
#GSDEdTech WinterCon
Collaborating with several elementary school principals, the Granite Educational Technology department recently sponsored WinterCon, a professional development mini-conference held at Lincoln Elementary School. Teachers and administrators from Bennion, Cottonwood, Lincoln, Rolling Meadows, Taylorsville, West Valley, and William Penn Elementary Schools came together to learn and share in a variety of sessions on topics including Google Apps for Education, Blogging, SMART Boards, classroom management, and much more. [Read more…] about #GSDEdTech WinterCon
Library Spotlight: Beehive Book Awards
Beehive Book Awards
The Beehive Book Award is an annual award sponsored by the Children’s Literature Association of Utah (CLAU), given to one book in each of these five categories: Children’s Fiction, Informational, Picture Book, Poetry, and Young Adult. Committees of teacher, librarian, and parent volunteer readers create annual short lists of 10-12 books in each category. These short lists are announced in March and then school and public libraries work to get students to vote on their favorites for the following school year. The winner in each category is announced the following year in April.
Granite School District Elementary School Libraries work hard to promote the Beehive Book Award program and encourage students to vote for their favorite books. They do this through displays, community engagement, and library promotions.
Displays
At Hillsdale Elementary School, Angela Pratt has a display for the 2015 Beehive Book Awards and highlights each category on a different shelf. She uses this display when doing story time and encourage her students to check-out the books nominated. Truman, Woodstock, and Rolling Meadows have also set up displays to draw attention to the books.
Community Engagement
At Rosecrest Elementary, Vala’dee Tanner, the media assistant, collaborated with the librarian at the Holladay library to come do a book talk for all students 4th-6th grade. Each grade came to the library and the public librarian spoke to them about the Beehive award nominees and encouraged them to participate in the voting process. Many schools rely on their PTA to help them buy copies of the Beehive nominees and to help track voting. At Driggs Elementary School, the PTA buys copies of each Beehive Book Award nominee and create a plan to read them in the classroom.
Promotion
Many media assistants have set up ballot boxes to help keep track of votes. Dian Morrison and Kim Liston, the media assistants at Woodstock Elementary, have a glass ballot box set up by their Beehive Book Award display. Students enjoy voting because they like to submit them in the special box, and like to see the votes build up over the school year.
Spotlight Author: Nikki Gregerson, Granite District Elementary Media Supervisor