2016-2017 Letters About Literature: Reading and Writing Contest
Letters About Literature is a reading and writing contest for students in grades 4-12. Students are asked to read a book, poem or speech and write to the author (living or dead) about how the book affected them personally. Letters are judged on state and national levels. Tens of thousands of students from across the country enter Letters About Literature each year. If you are in grades 4-12, you are eligible to enter.
The 2016-2017 Letters About Literature contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate Centers for the Book, state libraries and other organizations.
If you are in grades 4-12, you are eligible to enter the Letters About Literature reading and writing contest. You do not have to enter through a class. You can enter on your own. To read more about the contest, learn about the guidelines, and to download an entry coupon, please go to www.read.gov/letters.
Also located on the website is The Letters About Literature Teaching Guide. The guide provides activities teachers can use to direct their students through the book discussion and letter-writing process. The guide addresses the LAL teaching strategies and ways in which the program can dovetail with curriculum for teaching reading and writing. Also included are worksheets for duplication and assessment checklists.
The contest is promoted by the Alabama Center for the Book, a state affiliate of the national Center of the Book. State winners will be announced next spring at a state award ceremony at Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library at The University of Alabama.
For more information about the contest, please contact Donna Adcock, Alabama state coordinator, at dbadcock@ua.edu.
