Super Bowl? What about a Reading Bowl?!

Happy Post Super Bowl Monday everyone! For those who did not watch, the Denver Broncos, led by future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning won! It was an excellent game between two great QB's and two excellent defenses.

But now, enough about the Super Bowl,

 Let's talk about... a Reading Bowl!

Background: 

•  Mrs. Helen Ruffin, a school library specialist created the concept of the Reading Bowl in 1986
• The intention was the challenge students to read a certain number of selected books, in which they would then be asked challenging questions regarding the content of the respected books.

Why it is so Popular:

• The Reading Bowl creates a sense of competition surrounding reading, in which the goal is to not only read all of the books, but also to retain the information in the books so the team with the most story recollection wins the competition
• Reading Bowl teams allow for students to all come together as one to discuss their interpretations of the books, and further learn about the various elements that go into each story

Create Your Own Reading Bowl

Whether you are a librarian reading this blog, a school teacher, or an interested patron, anyone can start their own Reading Bowl competition. Here is how:

1. Advertise that you are having a reading bowl. Depending on how many people show interest will tell you how many books are appropriate to include in your Reading Bowl line-up
2. Have one person in the Reading Bowl create a list of questions pertaining to each of the Reading Bowl books. Make sure these questions are substantive but related to the storyline of each book
3. Set a time limit of how long each participant has to read the Reading Bowl books
4. Plan your Reading Bowl party! Order pizza, bake cookies, get creative, this is your time to make reading as fun as it can be!
5. Test your knowledge and see who is the champion of your Reading Bowl! 

Most Importantly... HAVE FUN!!!