Readers’ Cup Competition

Where it all began

In 1987, Judy Styles, teacher librarian at Aberfoyle Park High School, in Adelaide, brought back an idea to promote books and reading called the Readers Cup Competition, from Boulder, USA. She introduced it to Year 8 students at her school, and word of its success in encouraging young people to read spread through hub group meetings and word of mouth from parents and students. Teacher librarians from neighbouring schools started it in their schools. A committee of interested teacher librarians south of Adelaide got together and organised a state competition. The thirteen years of its continued growth is proof of the popularity and success of this competition.

What is the Readers’ Cup Competition?

The Readers’ Cup Competition rewards students who do well at reading. Just as good sports people receive rewards, then good readers receive prizes and certificates for competing at reading. The Readers’ Cup Competition consists of teams of three or four students reading eight individual books that have been selected by the teacher librarian and interested English teachers. These teams compete against each other in heats. Each team provides written answers to two questions about each book, and the five teams with the highest scores go into the finals. Teams are asked more difficult questions in the finals and the team with the highest score wins. Each student participating receives a certificate and a small sweet while the winners receive a monetary prize or book vouchers.

How is it organised?

· It is a joint effort between English teachers and the library. Initially, the teacher librarian negotiates with the English faculty leader and the faculty staff, to allow classes to participate in the competition.
· Books are read and a final decision is made about the eight books in the competition.
· Multiple copies of each book are purchased. This needs to be budgeted for and can be shared with the English faculty.
· Questions are made up about each book
· A pamphlet is designed, providing information about the rules, prizes, and titles of the books. If it is being held in conjunction with Book Week, then the short listed books can also be promoted in this handout.
· The teacher librarian negotiates with the teacher to give a book talk about the selected titles. Each student receives a copy of the pamphlet during the talk which can take place in the classroom or in the library.
· Students make up teams containing no more than four people. The teacher keeps a record of composition of the teams.
· The students then commence to read the books. A time line is given for the completion of the task, which is usually 8 to 12 weeks.
· The teacher librarian negotiates with the English teachers for a suitable time for the heats.
· Winners of the various heats participate in the final. Photographs are taken for the school magazine.
· Certificates are handed out at a full school assembly and a newsletter article is written.
· Winners are encouraged to write an article for the school magazine.

Selection criteria for the books

The aim is to get kids reading. It is important to consider the reading level and the interest level of the books that are selected. There needs to be levels of difficulty ranging from the very easy for the less able or reluctant reader, to very challenging for the gifted reader. Books written by popular authors like Paul Jennings are very appealing to all students. Incorporate at least one very short easy book because this means that every child can enter the competition. Short story collections are often a good choice, because the reluctant readers can be assured that even if they read only the first story, they will be able to answer the questions in the heats and get a certificate and a lolly, while the more able will need to read all the stories if they want to win the finals.

Books are also selected from a range of genres such as science fiction, fantasy, adventure, mystery, adolescent, historical and horror. This not only caters for all tastes but gives students the opportunity to read types of books that they haven’t tried before.

Award winning books can also be incorporated into the selection. If the Readers’ Cup Competition is being held in conjunction with Book Week, then at least one of the short listed books can be selected. Newbery and Carnegie Medal winners are also good choices to extend the more able readers. A book like The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman is challenging enough for the more able readers but because of its length, encourages all students to attempt to read it.

The sex and ethnic background of the main characters need to be checked to ensure that there is a gender balance and range of ethnicity. It is also important to be aware of the readers’ religious and racial backgrounds and incorporate good quality literature that will not offend the school community.

Once the Readers’ Cup Competition has been established in a school, only some titles will be replaced each year. Books are often used for a number of years so it is important to carefully select ones that will not date too much and will have appeal to future students. The aim is to choose a group of well written, popular books that will appeal to the majority of the students.

Setting up the Questions

Two questions per book for the heats and two questions per book for the finals need to be made up. It is useful to have two or three additional questions as tiebreakers or if a mistake is made during the questioning. The questions need to be specific and not open ended. Some questions can be really easy as this ensures that every team can get some correct answers. As a result of this students will feel more confident about participating in subsequent competitions. Page numbers of the answers must be provided for adjudication purposes. It is best if these are word processed and saved carefully, not only for future use but also to share with neighbouring schools who are also organising a competition.

Certificates and prizes

Each student who participates in the competition receives a certificate of participation and a lolly, such as a chocolate frog or a small Mars bar. The winners receive a certificate and prize money of $15, or a book voucher. Sometimes it is possible to get a book supplier to sponsor the competition and donate book vouchers. The money is often a more appealing prize than a book, especially to boys and will encourage more people to participate. Many English teachers will also include the competition in their assessment plans as part of an extension reading program.

Budget

The Readers’ Cup Competition must have a budget allocated to it. Provision has to be made to purchase multiple copies of the eight books. Although students can purchase their own copies or borrow the books from a public library, it is important to have at least ten copies of each novel. If the books have been popular they rarely stay on the shelves, even after the competition, so it is money well spent. During the time span of the competition a reserve collection with a maximum of two weeks loan period can be set up. Money also needs to be put aside to cover the costs of the sweets and the certificates.

Heats

Heats can be run in the library on in the classroom. Book a time with the teacher and make sure that students know when the heats are on, to give them last minute opportunities to read the books! Take along pencils and paper for each team. During the heat, the teacher librarian asks the questions and gives a certain time limit for the team to confer and write down their answer. Spelling is not checked. Have the books available to show as you ask the question, and to refer to if there are any doubts about the correct answers. When the time limit is up, answers are checked. The teacher can be the score keeper and keep a record of scores. This session is often noisy, but fun. At the end of the heats, hand out certificates and lollies and tell students about the finals. The teams with the highest scores from all classes go into the finals. These are normally held a week later, giving more team members the chance to read the books.

Finals

Because the finals involve students from different classes I usually hold the finals in the library during a lunch time session. Students are notified about the date and time of the final by their teachers. A notice is also put into the school bulletin. Students may bring their lunch to the library as it usually takes at least 45 minutes to run the session.

Why have Readers Cup?

The Readers Cup Competition is a highly visible form of promoting and recognising the importance of reading. As a reading incentive program it is an excellent way to promote literature and libraries. A competition with focus on academics, it encourages team building and on regional level it is good for school spirit building. The collaboration between school teacher librarian and English teacher has spin offs for the purchase of new class sets. Collaboration among different schools also has the benefit of encouraging the sharing of books and ideas. Running a Readers Cup Competition also helps to keep teacher librarians up to date with new books. It is a lot of fun.