CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Students in Cabell and Greenbrier counties have won electronic readers for creating original videos that promote reading.
Marea Jaydn Pennell, a first grader at Barboursville Elementary; Selena Franklin, an eighth grader at Beverly Hills Middle School; and Marissa Miluk, a sophomore at Greenbrier East High School, submitted the winning videos in the West Virginia Department of Education’s “What are you reading, West Virginia?” video contest. For their efforts, they each will receive a Kindle.
The winners were chosen from about 80 entries. Students were asked to create a 3-minute video about reading. The videos could feature characters from their favorite book, interviews with friends, or just share their own reading experiences. The high school division included Grades 9 through 12; middle school, Grades 5 through 8; and elementary school, Grades 1 through 4. The winning videos are posted at http://wvde.state.wv.us/readwv/contest/index.php.
“The idea of the video contest was to reach as many West Virginia children as possible to help them understand the importance of reading every day," said West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Jorea Marple. “It’s not enough to just be able to recognize words. I want all West Virginia children to develop a love for reading that will last a lifetime. These kids have done that.”
The video contest is part of the Department of Education’s Read WV project to promote literacy and encourage children and adults to read daily. The department is partnering with Read Aloud, public libraries and other literacy organizations to help young people read more and read well. A resource page on the project is posted at www.readwv.com.
“Reading well is one of the most important skills a child needs to learn; it is the gateway to future success,” Marple said. “When children become good readers in the early grades, they are more likely to perform well in other subjects and all through their school days.”
In the high school division, freshman Katie Norman of Huntington High School, Cabell County, finished second. Senior Dylan Hahn of Hedgesville High School, Berkeley County, was third. In the middle school division, sixth grader Rhiannon Macom of Wellsburg Middle School, Brooke County, was second. Sixth grader Michaela Young of Poca Middle School, Putnam County, was third. In the elementary school division, fourth grader Christopher Price of Shepherdstown Elementary, Jefferson County, was second. Second grader Hunter Wamsley of Lewisburg Elementary, Greenbrier County was third.
Creators of the winning videos will receive their Kindles at an upcoming meeting of the West Virginia Board of Education in Charleston. Second and third place finishers will receive certificates and also be invited to attend the board meeting to receive them. Winning videos were judged on originality, creativity, adherence to the theme and overall quality.
For more information, contact the Office of Communications at 304-558-2699.
--The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) are committed to ensuring all students in the state are college and career ready when they graduate from a public school. What West Virginia students are learning in school exceeds national and international standards. Through the WVDE’s 21st century learning plan called “Global21: Students deserve it. The world demands it.,” West Virginia is seeing better student performance on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test 2 (WESTEST2); the SAT and the ACT college entrance exams; the job skills assessment called Work Keys given to career and technical education students; and in a high school graduation rate that exceeds the national average.
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