Contest 2

 Autobiography Challenge

Contest Purposes/Payoff: Students develop an understanding of autobiography writing and develop an understanding of how they view their everyday surroundings as well as share their stories with others. The contest can promote non-fiction writing, storytelling, expose students to the autobiography section in the library, and show the power of writing. This would be a great cross-curricular contest.

Promotional Materials: 

• Flyers to be distributed to all classrooms and in the cafeteria during lunch times
• Large posters placed at locations with large traffic such as the cafeteria, hallways, gym, fine arts area, library, front entrance, etc. can also be filled out on the campus library 
• Sign-in sheet will be located at the library; Google Form sign-in sheet link can be shared with teachers to post on Google Classroom/Remind for students

Flyer/Poster

Directions: 

• Invite all students to join the annual Autobiography Challenge
• Have a pre-made rubric (can be simple or complex, depends on you)
• Provide flyers to be distributed on campus (for example: in the classroom, during lunch times)
• Post posters (same as flyers) in places with large traffic such as the cafeteria, gym, front entrance, etc. 
• Ensure to make enough hard copies of the rubric for the judge panel
• Students sign up by completing a Google Form link provided by the librarian shared with the school and submitting a one page typed autobiography of their lives
• After the due date, a panel of judges will be invited to view all the entries and select the top 3 choices
• Students selected as the winners will have their story published on the school website/library social media and get an autobiography book of choice, a small gift basket, and a bookmark
• Announce the winners during morning announcements or lunch times, you can also create a video with the students and their submissions

Materials Needed:

• Autobiography rubric for judges (this can be made on Google Docs)
• Access to a printer to make multiple copies of the rubric (as many needed for judges to use)
• Flyers
• Poster maker (to make the flyer into poster size)
• Library Google Classroom (have all students invited and have them submit their stories on the Classwork page), email a copy, or print a hard copy (how students submit their stories can be up to the librarian)
• A gift basket (can be small filled with yummy treats), an autobiography book of choice and a bookmark

Judging:

• Invite all teachers and staff personnel to view the submissions and make a selection (the submissions will be narrowed down to the top 10 choices from the first selection)
• Invite department chairs and administration to view the top ten choices and select the top 3 winners
• Instruct judges panel to look for originality, creativity, and interesting stories

Prizes: 

• Top 3 winners will get an autobiography book of choice, a gift basket and a bookmark
• Selected stories  will be published on the school website and library social media. This can help promote the challenge for the following year