1. Children's Book Award Line-Up!
LEADERS IN LITERACY CONFERENCE
Children's Book Award Line-Up!
Aiken County Public School District
January 13, 2017
Cheryl Curtis and Stephanie Morin
Power point template opening slide

2. Essential Question
As an educator, how can I best use the South Carolina Book Award Program to enhance my literacy instruction in the classroom?
aiken county public school district

3. Session Outcomes
As a result of attending this session, educators will have
An understanding of the South Carolina Book Award program
An understanding of the process involved in selecting the yearly top 20 book award nominees
Gained knowledge concerning a book award activity guide that can be used in the classroom
Gained knowledge of the South Carolina Association of School Librarian’s website
aiken county public school district

4. What is the SC Book Award Program?
A vetting process in which current copyright books are read and voted on by the great students of South Carolina.
aiken county public school district

5. Purpose
The purpose of the South Carolina Book Award Program is to encourage our students to read good quality contemporary literature and to honor the authors of the books annually chosen the favorites by student vote.
aiken county public school district

6. South Carolina Book Awards History
The South Carolina book award program began in 1976 with the participation of sixteen schools. At the present time, the program has expanded to include more than 500 schools with more than 60,000 students participating in this program.
aiken county public school district

7. South Carolina Book Awards Honor
The South Carolina Book Award program was honored for its impact on literacy by the
South Carolina Center for Children’s Books and Literacy at the University of South Carolina
in 2012 when the program was named a Literacy Leader.
aiken county public school district

8. The South Carolina Book Award Program
There are four categories in the SC Book Award Program:
Picture Book Award (Grades K-2)
Children’s Book Award (Grades 3-6)
Junior Book Award (Grades 6-8)
Young Adult Book Award (Grades 9-12)
aiken county public school district

9. Committee Members
The 4 South Carolina Book Award Committees are comprised of:
School Librarians
Public Librarians
School Teachers
Administrators
Students
There is an application process that must be completed. If chosen, this is a two year commitment.
aiken county public school district

10. The Committee Responsibility
The four Book Award Committees are tasked with annually formulating the SCASL Book Award Program nominee book lists.
In order to accomplish this they must each read titles each year and then discuss and evaluate those titles at five scheduled meetings. The result is each year’s carefully selected reading list in each of four categories. 
aiken county public school district

11. How are the books chosen?
The original list of books must have the following criteria:
Be a recent copyright (no more than one year old)
Have a minimum of two positive reviews from reputable reviewing sources with no negative reviews
The author must reside in the United States
Books that do not meet the above criteria may NOT be included on the list.
aiken county public school district

12. What types of books are included?
A variety of genres are represented on the list:
Fiction
Nonfiction
Poetry
Graphic
Historical
Science Fiction
aiken county public school district

13. How many books are nominated?
The original list of books are narrowed down to 20 nominees with 5 alternates for a total of 25.
aiken county public school district

14. Voting
In February of each year, the voting window opens and students at each participating school who have read a minimum of 5 picture books or 3 children’s books from the list are encouraged to vote for their favorite book award nominee.
The school results are combined with other schools around the great state of South Carolina and the book with the most votes is declared the “winner”.
The winning book is announced at the South Carolina Association of School Librarians Conference in March.
aiken county public school district

15. Voting Ideas Paper ballot Electronic survey
Counters (for younger students)
Voting machines and a ballot box from the Voter’s Registration Office
aiken county public school district

16. Activity Guides
Every year an activity guide is created for each nominee list. This activity guide contains:
Book title, author, publisher, copyright, number of pages
Book summary
Suggested websites
Curriculum tie-ins
Book talk
aiken county public school district

17. Book Trailers and Book Banners
In addition to the activity guides, book trailers and book banners have been added to the South Carolina Book Award Program.
These book trailers and book banners are created by students.
The book trailers and book banners are submitted for voting and winners are declared each year.
A small monetary gift goes to the winning trailer and book banner submitted in each category.
aiken county public school district

18. Classroom Ideas:
Have students create their own activity guide after reading a nominee.
Have students design a banner (on paper or other) representing a nominee.
Consider utilizing literature circles where each group reads a different nominee.
aiken county public school district

19. SCASL Website
aiken county public school district

20. Session Outcomes
As a result of attending this session, educators will have
An understanding of the South Carolina Book Award program
An understanding of the process involved in selecting the yearly top 25 book award nominees
Gained knowledge concerning a book award activity guide that can be used in the classroom
Gained knowledge concerning the South Carolina Association of School Librarian’s website
aiken county public school district

21. Essential Question
As an educator, how can I best use the South Carolina Book Award Program to enhance my literacy instruction in the classroom?
aiken county public school district

22. Questions? Email further questions to: Cheryl Curtis Stephanie Morin
Media Specialist Media Specialist
Chukker Creek Elementary North Augusta Elementary
aiken county public school district