Elementary
school
students
participated
in
an
Olympic
competition.
The
Olympic
reading
challenge
that
is.
The
fun
challenge
encouraged
students
to
explore
new
interests
in
their
reading
selections.
The
Olympic
reading
challenge
was
developed
by
school
librarians,
Tanya
Parrott
from
The
Nokesville
School,
Sabrina
Tucker
at
Bristow
Run
Elementary
School,
Kathy
Stavros
from
Signal
Hill
Elementary
School,
and
Carolyn
Vibbert
at
Sudley
Elementary
School.
They
created
a
list
of
nine
challenges
that
were
divided
into
bronze,
silver,
and
gold
medal
levels.
Students
earned
a
medal
by
completing
the
challenges
at
the
level.
For
example,
reading
a
book
suggested
by
a
friend
is
a
bronze
level
challenge.
A
gold
level
challenge
was
to
read
a
book
about
someone
different
from
you.
Laura,
a
fourth
grader
at
Sudley
Elementary,
chose
"Sadiq
and
the
Desert
Star,"
by
Siman
Nuurali.
"I
really
enjoyed
reading
the
book.
It's
about
a
boy
named
Sadiq.
He
lives
in
Minnesota,
but
his
family
is
from
Somalia.
In
the
book,
when
Sadiq
talks
to
his
dad,
he
says
'Baba,'
which
is
a
common
term
for
father
in
Somalian."
Students
visited
the
library
after
completing
the
list
of
challenges
to
receive
their
bronze,
silver,
or
gold
sticker.
To
make
the
moment
fun,
Vibbert
selected
a
country's
national
anthem
to
play
while
presenting
the
student
with
their
sticker.
They
also
used
the
time
to
talk
with
Vibbert
about
the
books
they
read.
Vibbert
explained,
"I
think
it's
really
important
that
we
ask
students
to
participate
in
reading
experiences
that
we
as
adults
might
like.
Sometimes
I
like
little
reading
challenges
to
help
me
explore
new
books.
But,
as
an
adult,
I
don't
want
to
write
down
my
page
numbers,
how
long
I
read,
or
even
list
every
book
I
read
unless
I
can
keep
it
private.
I
just
wanted
a
little
way
to
keep
our
students
going
as
readers
--
something
a
bit
exciting,
but
low
pressure.
Sometimes
we
have
to
feel
like
readers
before
we
can
BE
readers.
And
I
want
every
student
to
feel
like
a
reader
rather
than
only
someone
who
is
learning
to
read."
At
Sudley,
participation
was
optional,
and
Vibbert
left
some
flexibility
for
completing
the
challenges.
For
example,
if
a
teacher
re-reads
a
favorite
class
book,
then
all
students
could
check
off
that
challenge
on
their
bronze
level
bookmark.
The
challenge
was
scheduled
to
end
on
the
same
day
of
the
closing
ceremony
for
the
Winter
Olympics,
but
Vibbert
plans
to
continue
accepting
completed
bookmarks
and
presenting
stickers
as
long
as
students
continue
to
submit
them.
The
team
of
librarians
who
created
the
challenge
shared
details
of
the
activity
with
all
elementary
school
librarians.
"I
keep
a
shared
Canvas
course
where
I'm
always
dropping
in
resources.
I
think
if
I
can
take
a
few
extra
minutes
to
share
great
activities
that
I'm
using,
then
I
might
make
someone's
day
a
little
easier,"
Vibbert
explained.
Julia
Haggerty,
Marshall
Elementary
School's
librarian,
took
advantage
of
the
generosity
to
also
host
the
Olympic
Reading
Challenge
at
her
school.
