Ready for a Statewide Summer Reading Challenge?
Top 100 Readers Win a Surprise!
Calling all rising kindergarteners to 4th graders to gear up their reading muscles - Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam invites you all to enter Read to be Ready Statewide Summer Reading Competition. This challenge runs June 1 through July 28 alongside your library summer reading programs. Top 100 readers will be treated to a Kids State Dinner hosted at the Tennessee Residence in Nashville on Friday, August 18.
During this free summer-long literacy program, Tennessee children are encouraged to keep track of their reading minutes in a Reading Log Packet. Then turn them in to their participating local public library. Winners will be notified via email on August 4. One parent or guardian can accompany the child in celebrating Tennessee’s Top 100 Summer Readers.
Memphis Parent conducted an email interview with Tennessee First Lady Crissy Haslam to learn more about this summer initiative.
MP: What is the focus of Read to be Ready summer challenge?
First Lady Haslam: The focus of this Statewide Summer Reading Competition is twofold. I want to encourage more Tennessee children and families to read together over the summer. Neglecting books during the summer can cause children to slide back, erasing years of academic progress in reading. We not only want to discourage the summer slide, but we want to spur our children to become even stronger in their reading over the summer. I also want to promote our public libraries as a great place to spend time over the summer break.
MP: What is the reason for targeting children from kindergarten through 4th grade?
First Lady Haslam: My initiative has focused on literacy in the early years. That end of 3rd grade reading proficiency test has become a key marker for determining students’ future success, both academically and in other areas of life. Right now, only 43% of Tennessee’s third graders are reading on grade level by the end of third grade, which means that over half of our young readers are struggling!
I want to make sure that parents know that these early years truly matter for developing a child’s ability for and love of reading.
MP: How would this competition compare to your other reading initiatives?
First Lady Haslam: I travel the state to promote parent engagement and the importance of reading on grade level before the end of third grade. I have visited all 95 counties with this message, and this competition, alongside my other initiatives echoes the same refrain.
- Through the Read20 Family Book Club, we suggest a book for families to read together each month and provide some fun activity suggestions for further engagement with the book.
- With the Imagination Library and the Read20 Book Patrol program, we are trying to get more books into the hands of more children for both pre-school learners and elementary students.
- The Statewide Summer Reading Competition is a focused push to encourage more reading during the summer months.
MP: What is the goal of this statewide program?
First Lady Haslam: The goal is to encourage all Tennessee children to get excited about reading over the summer and to bring more children and families into our state’s public libraries. We want this to be a fun way for families to spend time together over the summer and an opportunity for children to feel proud of their reading skills!
The Kids State Dinner will be a really special evening at the Tennessee Residence filled with books, music, and other festivities to honor the hard work of the top 100 readers.
MP: What can families takeaway from this summer contest?
First Lady Haslam: It is my hope that this initiative reminds parents and caregivers of the importance of reading with their child over the summer and encouraging children in their reading habits. Reading together for 20 or more minutes each day can really enrich a child’s experience with a book. It exposes them to words, phrases, sentence structure, and more advanced material that they might not be able to read by themselves. This practice allows your child to expand their understanding and stimulate their imagination, and of course, offers a wonderful opportunity to bond and communicate with your child.
We hope this incentive encourages Tennessee’s young learners to read more, both on their own and with others.
The Collierville Burch Library and the Millington Public Library are participating in this Statewide Summer Reading Competition. Ask your library to join the challenge! To pick up Guidelines and Reading Log Packets, visit TN Office of the First Lady