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Granite School District > Educational Technology > Blog > Student Activities

Student Activities

Battle of the Books 2018-2019 Book Lists and Informational Meeting

We are excited to officially publish the Battle of the Books 2018-2019 Book Lists!

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Book List

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Book List

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Book List (High Quality PDF for Printing)

Read or listen to these books in Granite’s OverDrive Digital Library

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Book List

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Book List

2018-2019 Granite Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Book List (High Quality PDF for Printing)

Read or Listen to these books in Granite’s OverDrive Digital Library

Upcoming Event: 2018-2019 Informational Meeting

If you are interested in participating in Battle of the Books in the 2018-2019 school year as a school administrator, teacher, media clerk, or PTA member, you are invited to attend this informational meeting. You will be provided with an overview of the program and learn the basics of the competition.

Battle of the Books
2018-2019 Informational Meeting
Date: Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Time: 4:00 PM-4:30 PM
Location: Granite Education Center
Administration Building (2-Story), Auditorium C
2500 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84115

You can view some highlights from our 2018 district competition in this recent blog post: Highlights from Granite’s Battle of the Books 2018 Competition. You can find more resources and information about administering the program by visiting botb.edtech.fun. If you have additional questions, please contact Nikki Gregerson, District Library Media Specialist for Elementary Schools.

Highlights from Granite’s Battle of the Books 2018 Competition

Battle of the Books 2018 - Rosecrest Elementary Signage

26 teams of 5th and 6th grade students from across Granite School District converged on Rosecrest Elementary last Thursday, April 19, for the 2018 Battle of the Books District Competition.

[Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s Battle of the Books 2018 Competition

Upcoming Event: Battle of the Books District Competition (Grades 5-6)

The Granite School District Battle of of the Books Competition will take place on the evening of Thursday, April 19, 2018, at Rosecrest Elementary School. [Read more…] about Upcoming Event: Battle of the Books District Competition (Grades 5-6)

Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier

On Saturday, February 3, 2018, over 300 students from elementary and junior high schools across Granite School District, 44 coaches, 67 volunteers, and bleacher-filling numbers of supportive family and friends came together at Granger High School for Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier. Student teams were judged on their robot design, project presentations (researched, innovative solutions to real-world problems), core values, and performance in the robot games.

These teams advanced to the state competition, held the following week at Weber State University:

Many thanks to the coaches, volunteers, and parents who made this experience possible for our students.   [Read more…] about Highlights from Granite’s FIRST LEGO League 2018 Qualifier

Now Registering: High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge

High school students in Utah are invited to submit innovative business ideas to the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge for a chance to win $20,000 in cash and scholarship prizes.  [Read more…] about Now Registering: High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge

2017 Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code Coming Soon

Computer Science Education Week is December 4-10, 2017. Many schools, educators, and students participate in an Hour of Code during Computer Science Education Week.

Hour of Code

Last year, students at Farnsworth Elementary and Woodstock Elementary tried out computer programming by participating in Hour of Code activities. In the video above, a few of these students share their work and their thoughts about the coding activities with Joell Wilkins, school technology specialist.

Hour of Code is a worldwide initiative to introduce young people to the basics of coding and computer science through 1-hour coding activities. These activities are especially promoted during Computer Science Education Week, but can be done at any time throughout the year. If you are interested in hosting an Hour of Code event, these how-to guides provide assistance for activities ranging from school-wide events to at-home family coding activities.

Check out these awesome Pleasant Green Elementary students learning to code during their Coding Club. Thanks to Jayanne Unander, school technology specialist, for sharing!

If you host a coding activity please share it with us! You can leave a comment below or share pictures via social media including Twitter or Instagram, using the hashtags #gsdedtech and #HourOfCode.

About Computer Science Education Week

Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an annual program dedicated to inspiring K-12 students to take interest in computer science.

Originally conceived by the Computing in the Core coalition, Code.org® organizes CSEdWeek as a grassroots campaign supported by 350 partners and 100,000 educators worldwide.

CSEdWeek is held in recognition of the birthday of computing pioneer Admiral Grace Murray Hopper (December 9, 1906).
–from “About CSEdWeek” (https://csedweek.org/about)

Why Learn to Code?

See what the developers of Microsoft, Dropbox, Twitter, Facebook and others have to say about learning to code.

Post created by Teresa Bruin, district educational technology specialist and team leader. originally appearing in our November 2017 Ed. Tech. Monthly Newsletter for Teachers. Hour of Code spotlight video created by Joell Wilkins, school technology specialist at Farnsworth Elementary and Woodstock Elementary, and originally featured on this blog last year.

Teacher Spotlight: Tiffany Pontius, Truman Elementary

TNN — Truman News Network

Breaking news! All Salt Lake City news reporters and anchors just may have their job security challenged due to some up and coming talent…hungry for reporting the news. That’s right! Truman News Network, or TNN, is currently taking up residence at Truman Elementary in Taylorsville. Student council members as well as guest reporters tell it like it is every week. Their well-received news cast is filled with information about the weather, sports, holidays, special events, book of the week, word of the day, staff and employee interviews, and the habit of the week. What is the habit of the week, you may ask? Well, on top of all the other awesome things going on at Truman Elementary, they are also a “Seven Habits of Happy Kids” school, wherein they review key ingredients of being successful in life!

TNN is organized by Tiffany Pontius, the School Technology Specialist for Truman Elementary. What could be an overwhelming and daunting task is smooth sailing due to Tiffany’s awesome organization and procedural planning. The best thing about this is that Tiffany prepares her students to be in charge of the news programs. This includes choosing the stories, writing the scripts, and deciding what props and backgrounds to use in place of the green screen when filming and editing. It is purely a situation of a student-led activity. No “sage on the stage” for Tiffany! She simply facilitates this well-oiled machine of news and information. She has used her skills as a top-notch educator to empower her 6th grade TNN members so that they gain confidence in running the news segments.

How do they do it? It all begins with a storyboard. Students choose what assignments they will have for the upcoming news cast during “staff meetings.” Reporters are then on the hunt for the news that will enlighten and inform the students. The student anchors create the script and film the leads. As soon as all of the elements are completed, one of the students edits the footage at home using WeVideo.

When asked the most challenging aspects of this project, the students replied, “…being able to film without laughing…getting everyone on the same page…and finding a time when all are able to meet.” What a terrific way to teach students how to collaborate in an authentic setting!

They also commented that the best thing about TNN is “…being on camera…writing the scripts…editing…hanging out with their friends…and working with Miss Pontius.” We would like to thank Tiffany for being a vital part of Granite School District. Her willingness to go the extra mile with her students and allow them to experience project-based learning, collaboration, problem solving, and creativity in the classroom should be celebrated.

Be sure to visit Truman TNN on YouTube!

Spotlight Created by Pam Moeai, Educational Technology Specialist and Team Leader.

Granite Battle of the Books 2017-2018 Book Lists

What Is Battle of the Books?

Throughout the school year, 3rd-6th grade students in Granite School District are encouraged to read as many books as they can from these lists.

Students who read at least five of the books by January will be able to create teams and compete in school level competitions.

Once schools have completed their competitions, their top two 5th-6th teams will then be invited to compete in a district-wide competition during the spring of 2018. [Read more…] about Granite Battle of the Books 2017-2018 Book Lists

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


2017 Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Bracket
2017 Battle of the Books 3rd-4th Grade Bracket

5th-6th Grade Winners


2017 Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Bracket
2017 Battle of the Books 5th-6th Grade Bracket

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.

2017-2018 Battle of the Books Informational Meeting - 1
2017-2018 Battle of the Books Informational Meeting - 2

If you have any questions about Battle of the Books, please contact Nikki Gregerson, District Elementary Library Supervisor in the Educational Technology department.