For teachers

This year the Tasmanian Premier's Reading Challenge (PRC) will be held between 22 June and 28 August and all schools with students in prep to grade 6 are encouraged to participate.

The aim of the Challenge is to promote a love of reading. It is not a competition, but a challenge to each student to read, to read more and to read more widely. This is a challenge for all students in prep to grade 6 regardless of their current reading level.

The PRC is designed to be easily built into, or run alongside, your usual class work. There are no mandatory reading lists - participating children are required to read ten books of their own choice over ten weeks.

The Challenge is a proven strategy that will help young students, their parents and the community recognise that literacy and reading are essential life skills. The format has been closely modelled on well established practices in other Australian states.

How does the 2009 Challenge differ from last year?

Evaluation of feedback received from schools and parents after the 2008 Challenge has led to the following changes:

• a shorter timeframe - the Challenge is now only ten weeks long

• eligibility has been extended to include prep students, and now any students enrolled in prep to grade 6 can participate

• there are no mandatory booklists. Students will be challenged to read at least one book a week for ten weeks by any writer and on any topic, including fiction and non-fiction, as long as it is an appropriate and challenging read

The cash incentive offered to schools registered in the 2008 Challenge is not available this year. The incentive was a one-off to help raise the profile of the inaugural Premier's Reading Challenge.

In addition to these changes, the website includes a new section to allow students to upload and share book reviews.

How can your school get involved?

Registering for the Challenge is free and can be completed in three easy steps:

1. Nominate your PRC school co-ordinator - up to two school staff can be nominated to act as the main point of contact with the PRC team

2. Register your school online by the 26 June.

3. Check that your school has received a PRC School Starter Kit and that it contains:

   • enough PRC reading logs [PDF 2MB] for every student in prep to grade 6

   • enough PRC bookmarks for every student in prep to grade 6

   • posters [PDF 2.4MB] for noticeboards in each classroom and the school library

   • stickers [PDF 14.6MB] for each classroom teacher to reward participating students (enough for 3 stickers per student)

   • a special message for your school newsletter

   • information for school staff [PDF 79KB]

Please ensure that each student in prep to grade 6 receives a copy of their own PRC reading log and bookmark, and that class teachers receive the PRC posters and stickers.

The PRC School Starter Kit also includes a message from the Premier for your school newsletter which we encourage you to include in your next newsletter for parents. An electronic copy of this text is available through the PRC school co-ordinators online forum.

Participation in the Challenge is free but all schools intending to participate must register, even if they were involved last year.

What is the role of the PRC school co-ordinator?

The PRC school co-ordinator is the main point of contact between the PRC team and your school. In most cases, the PRC school co-ordinator is an AST, librarian or other staff member responsible for the library, or the principal/ assistant principal. Whilst any school staff member can be the PRC school co-ordinator, we have generally found that classroom teachers are less able to co-ordinate the Challenge across all grades than staff with whole of school responsibilities.

The PRC school co-ordinator's judgement in applying the rules is a critical element in ensuring both the integrity of the Challenge and that all students can participate, be challenged and succeed. Read the Challenge Rules.

Before the Challenge

When registering, you will be asked to provide:

• the approximate number of students expected to participate in each grade

• the approximate number of male and female students expected to participate in each grade

• the name and email address of the PRC school co-ordinator/s

During the Challenge

PRC school co-ordinators are asked to:

• ensure that school registration details are submitted by 26 June

• ensure all librarians and teachers from prep to grade 6 are aware of the Challenge and familiar with the Frequently Asked Questions

• ensure that all eligible students receive a PRC reading log

• ensure that participating students have their reading log signed by an adult on completion of each book

• ensure that teachers of participating classes receive a poster for their classroom and enough reading log stickers to reward students as they finish books along the way

• promote the Challenge within the school, eg. by putting up posters around the school in classrooms and libraries, look at options for associated book displays, etc.

• place information in the school newsletter to inform parents about your school's involvement in the Challenge

After the Challenge

PRC school co-ordinators are asked to:

• submit spreadsheets for each grade by 4 September with details of students who have completed the Challenge

• make sure student names are correct, as the submitted names will be printed on certificates

• organise presentation of the official PRC certificates to those students who have successfully completed the Challenge at either a school assembly or during class time

All ongoing communication from the PRC team will be via email to the PRC school co-ordinator.

Booklists

There are NO mandatory booklists for the 2009 Premier's Reading Challenge. The PRC counts any books that are age appropriate and considered suitable by a parent, teacher or librarian. This includes fiction (novels, poetry, etc.) and non-fiction (biography, sport, science, etc.).

Formats such as large print, audio and Braille are also acceptable for students who are vision or learning impaired. Books written in a language other than English also count. Younger children may have books read to them, participate in shared reading, or read part or all of a book independently. Students with special needs can access assistive materials - including books in Braille, enlarged print, audio books, assistance from reading buddies and teacher aides.

Visit the links below to find lists of suitable reading recommendations:

• 2008 PRC Booklists

• Children's Book Council of Australia

• State Library of Tasmania

Reading Log

The PRC School Starter Kit includes enough copies of the PRC reading log for each eligible student.

The reading logs should be handed out at the beginning of the Challenge. The reading log is used to record each student's reading efforts and an adult (parent, guardian, teacher or librarian) must sign it each time the student finishes reading a book and adds it to their log. The reading log includes instructions for the student, as well as a table for them to record the names of the books they have read for the Challenge. The table includes a column for students to say whether they liked a book or not, and it also includes a column for inserting PRC stickers to be handed out by teachers as student rewards.

At the end of the Challenge, students must return their completed reading log to their teacher so that their names can be recorded and forwarded to the PRC team by 4 September (this will ensure that they receive an official certificate and go into the iPod prize draw).

Completed reading logs should be kept at the school as a record of participation (they should not be forwarded to the PRC team).

Reading Log - download spare copies [PDF 2MB]

Rewards & incentives

There are several recognition and reward opportunities offered throughout the program to help encourage and motivate students during the Challenge and to recognise their achievement on completion.

• PRC stickers will be provided to teachers for distribution to students as small incentives and rewards to be given out along the way and to help mark progress throughout the ten weeks of the Challenge. The stickers are designed to be used with the reading log.

• small weekly prizes will be awarded to selected book reviews

• all students who complete the Challenge have the chance to win an iPod (one in each region)

• all students who complete the Challenge by reading ten books in the ten weeks between 22 June and 28 August will receive an official certificate signed by the Premier

• twenty students from each region will be invited to receive their certificate at a special celebratory event

Download and print extra copies of the stickers and poster:

• stickers [PDF 14.6MB]

• poster [PDF 2.4MB]

What about students who want to be involved but are ineligible?

Whilst the Challenge is only officially open to students in prep to grade 6, some schools have indicated a desire to open it up to other grades. In this case, the school is responsible for organising its own incentives and rewards for these students.

To assist with this, schools are provided with an optional template for a "special encouragement certificate" to be printed and presented by the school to students who were ineligible to register but still completed the Challenge (eg. kindergarten and grade 7 students). A similar certificate is provided in other states and helps to facilitate the recognition of reading achievement as recommended in the 2008 Review. The template is available through the PRC school co-ordinators online forum.

PRC 2009 website

You can visit this site at any time to download and print copies of the reading log [PDF 2MB], stickers [PDF 14.6MB] and poster [2.4MB] as well as the Challenge Rules. This site is the best source of information on the Challenge - please use it to find out about frequently asked questions and for other useful information and links.

Students can also visit the website to submit their book reviews. The reviews will make great starting points for classroom discussion.

Where can I find out more?

If you have any specific questions, please email state.library@education.tas.gov.au

For discussion and comment, visit the PRC school co-ordinator's forum. All PRC school co-ordinators will be automatically registered to this forum. For more information please email us.