Two Edmonds School District teams were among the seven entrants competing in the “Sno-Isle Libraries Mega-Fun, Biblio-Trivia, Rockem-Sock-em Third Grade Reading Challenge” finals at the Edmonds Center for the Arts March 25.
The Read Hawks team from Hillcrest Elementary in the Lake Stevens School District was the top scoring group. The literary trivia contest includes three rounds of eight questions each and the Read Hawks got all 24 questions right. The runner-up team, the Reading Racers from Brier Elementary, was correct on 23 questions. Edmonds-based Seaview Elementary’s Reading Lightning Pups also were in the finals.
“The focus is on reading, but there are other important lessons that come with the reading challenge,” said Joy Feldman, Lead Librarian for Early Literacy at Sno-Isle Libraries. “These third-graders really have to work together as a team.”
At the finals, Feldman told the audience before the event started that all the team members on the ECA stage that night should be proud of their accomplishments.
“These students are here out of 1,334 third-graders on 193 teams from 51 schools across Snohomish and Island counties,” Feldman said. “These teams here tonight are the ‘spectacular seven.’”
The seven finalist teams were:
- Brier Elementary (Brier) — Reading Racers
- Hillcrest Elementary (Lake Stevens) — Read Hawks
- Riverview Elementary (Snohomish) — Mustache Readers
- Seaview Elementary (Edmonds) — Reading Lightning Pups
- Silver Firs Elementary (Mill Creek) — Star Readers
- South Whidbey Elementary (Langley) — Rocket Readers
- Twin City Elementary (Stanwood) — Royal Readers
Judges for the finals were Edmonds City Councilmember Mike Nelson, Evelyn McEwen from the Northwest Literacy Foundation and Karin Thomsen with Sno-Isle Libraries.
The reading challenge starts in the fall with students reading six books chosen by Sno-Isle Libraries staff members for the challenge. The teams then test their knowledge in a quiz-bowl style game. The challenges started with in-school events and top scoring teams from each school go on to one of seven regional semifinal events. The top scorers from regionals move on to the finals.
The books for the 2019 challenge were:
- Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom by Eric Wight
- Hurricane Katrina 2005 by Lauren Tarshis
- The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary
- The Case of the Library Monster by Dori Hillestad Butler
- How Tia Lola Came to Stay by Julia Alvarez
- Jasmine Toguchi, Mochi Queen by Debbi Michiko Florence
Third-graders are the focus of the challenge because research shows that reading ability in third grade can be a tipping point for later academic and life success. Students not reading at grade level are less likely to finish high school, which may have consequences later in life.
The reading challenge is sponsored by the Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation and the Northwest Literacy Foundation.
— Information and photos supplied by Sno-Isle Libraries
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