[OYAN] Letters About Literature Postmark Deadline is Jan. 15th

[Jennifer Maurer]

Please remind students, teachers, and homeschoolers about the upcoming Letters About Literature deadline.

All elementary and middle school (4th - 8th graders) entries must be postmarked by January 15th.

While the postmark deadline for high schoolers (9th - 12th graders) was December 15, 2014, I've been told that entries postmarked by January 15th will be accepted.

Entry forms and guidelines are available online: http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/youthsvcs/aboutlit.aspx.

Thanks,
Jen

Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Oregon State Library

From: OYAN [mailto:oyan-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Jennifer Maurer
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2014 2:21 PM
To: oyan at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [OYAN] Letters About Literature Entries Due 12/15 for HS & 1/15 for Elem & MS

Please remind teachers and students about the upcoming Letters About Literature deadlines. All high school entries must be postmarked by December 15, 2014 and elementary and middle school (4th - 8th graders) entries by January 15, 2015.

Entry forms and guidelines are available online: http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/youthsvcs/aboutlit.aspx.

Thanks,
Jen

Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Oregon State Library


From: OYAN [mailto:oyan-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of Jennifer Maurer
Sent: Monday, September 08, 2014 4:16 PM
To: oyan at listsmart.osl.state.or.us<mailto:oyan at listsmart.osl.state.or.us>
Subject: [OYAN] Letters About Literature Has Begun => Reading & Writing Contest for 4th - 12th Graders

Please pardon the cross-posting.

[LALimage2014.png]


Letters About Literature is a national reading and writing contest sponsored by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress (LOC) and by Oregon's equivalent at the State Library. Students write letters to any author explaining how that author's book changed their way of thinking about the world or themselves. Please help promote this program, including among homeschoolers.

The LOC asks teachers and parents to allow students to choose a book that is meaningful to them and asks students to explain *why* or *how* the book was significant to them instead of summarizing the plot. The focus of a participant's letter is to make clear the connection one has with a book.

Here's what Lynette Gottlieb, a teacher in Corvallis, had to say about the contest:
Letters about Literature was a completely positive experience for my students...importantly, some of my students who do not identify as writers, and do not generally enjoy the experience, were able to write about something meaningful to them and participate in an inclusive contest that also recognized them...the process connects them to the human experience of literature. It supports my English classroom where I give students choice about reading whenever possible and teach that literature and writing are first and foremost about communication.

There are three competition levels: Level I for 4th-6th graders, Level II for 7th-8th graders, and Level III for 9th-12th graders. Oregon's three winners - one from each competition level - will go on to compete nationally.

Entry forms and guidelines<http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/youthsvcs/aboutlit.aspx> are available online. All Level III entries must be postmarked by December 15, 2014 and Level I and Level II entries by January 15, 2015.

Last year, about 1,040 students in Oregon entered the contest, and 1 in 8 received cash prizes or bookstore gift certificates. These prizes are made possible through support from the national Center for the Book, Oregon Reading Association, and three divisions of the Oregon Library Association: Oregon Association of School Libraries, Children's Services Division, and Oregon Young Adult Network.

Thanks for passing along the information to teachers and encouraging them to participate.

Please note that this is likely the last year that the State Library will coordinate the program because of changes within the agency. State Library staff members are working to find a new home for Letters About Literature. However, if no organization takes it on, this could be the program's last year in Oregon.

Questions? Please ask.

Thanks,
Jen

http://www.oregon.gov/osl/LD/Pages/youthsvcs/aboutlit.aspx


Jennifer Maurer
School Library Consultant
Oregon State Library
250 Winter Street NE
Salem, OR 97301
503.378.5011
jennifer.maurer at state.or.us<mailto:jennifer.maurer at state.or.us>

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