The BCAITC Ag-Reading Challenges results are in… and the multi-faceted initiative was an amazing success. Students and educators in B.C. classrooms and homeschools across the province were invited to participate in this online event to celebrate Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) from March 1 to 31.
“The Ag-Reading Challenge was a fun way to read a specific collection of age-appropriate books together and dream of Spring gardening,” reported Barriere Library Branch Head Pam Rudd.
Students in 82 schools participated by digging into great books, writing book reviews, and learning about agriculture - all while having fun earning virtual badges and the chance to win $1,300 in prizes.
One of those prizes, the Grand Prize of a $200 Amazon Gift Card, was won by Barriere Elementary School kindergarten student Willow Williams, who is Rudd’s grandaughter.
“Willow is a fun-loving, earth-friendly kid who is learning about the power of literacy. She has a deep desire to live on a farm surrounded by animals, and thinks that’s the only reason her mom goes to work every day!,” says Rudd, “She has learned the joy of eating fresh raspberries off the bush, and the craft of cleaning a carrot using the other carrot tops in the garden so she can eat it where it is. We are looking forward to planting our small backyard garden soon.”
Rudd says the Ag-Reading Challenges results reported 773 participants in 82 schools, with 840,410 minutes of reading, 2,779 book reviews submitted, and 6,158 badges earned. Proving beyond a doubt that virtual challenges proved to be an ideal learning tool for today’s COVID-19 learning environments.
Thanks to all the teachers, school librarians, literacy coordinators, administrators, home educators, and of course – students – that participated in this fun event. Special thanks to the Entomological Society of British Columbia and Munro’s Books for donating 500 copies of The Bug Girl book and to Sophia Spencer (book author) for encouraging student readers.
Stay tuned to www.bcaitc.ca for more literacy adventures, and be sure to check out their downloadable educational resources here for more K-12 learning resources including lessons, activities, videos, and more.