[NFBofSC] Braille Readers Are Leaders
Steve Cook
cookcafe at sc.rr.com
Tue Nov 16 18:32:28 UTC 2021
Attention, Attention!
For our 2021/2022 Braille Readers Are Leaders Contest we are making some BIG
changes. With the input we received from you during our BRAL survey, we have
decided to count minutes read instead of pages read to encourage more folks
to participate in the contest. Also, we will be using Beanstack for logging
minutes. This year's contest will begin on December 1, 2021 and run through
January 21, 2022. Administered by the American Action Fund For Blind
Children and Adults in partnership with the National Federation of the
Blind.
GENERAL CONTEST INFORMATION
* Purpose: to promote the joy of reading for pleasure; to promote a
pride in Braille as a viable literacy medium equal to print; and to
demonstrate the importance of independent reading in the development of
Braille literacy skills.
* Eligibility: blind and low-vision Braille-reading students and adults.
REGISTRATION
Registration for the 2021/2022 season will open shortly. It will involve
creating an account on Beanstack, which will also be used to log minutes
read. Please stay tuned!!
<https://zoobean.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408187256471-The-reader-expe
rience-using-Beanstack-on-the-web> Using Beanstack on the Web.
As always, the American Action Fund does not want to exclude any interested
contest participant who cannot use Beanstack or does not have access to the
internet. Please contact <mailto:BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org>
BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org or call 410-659-9315 to discuss other
reading log options.
SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES
* December 1: The beginning of the contest and the first day
participants can count log their minutes.
* January 21: The end of the contest, the last day participants can
track and add more minutes, and the last day to submit a registration form.
* January 28: All minutes read during the contest period must be
logged on Beanstack by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
* February 7: Winners will be announced/notified.
* Mid February: Prizes will be mailed out.
BREAKING DOWN THE CONTEST
Contestants compete against their same-grade peers nationwide to read for
the most minutes during the reading period. There are five grade categories
and an adult category in the competition: grades K-1, grades 2-3, grades
4-5, grades 6-8 (middle school), and grades 9-12 (high school), adults.
NOTE: Students classified as "un-graded," or those who have reading delays,
should register in the same category as their same-age peers. For example, a
sixteen-year-old student who reads at a third grade level should register in
the high school category. However, he or she may read third grade materials.
We have found that when students read material appropriate for their reading
level, they are able to be competitive with their same-age peers.
CONTESTANT T-SHIRT
All contest participants will receive a Braille Readers Are Leaders t-shirt.
This shirt will be mailed as soon as possible after the participant
registers for the contest and logs their first amount of minutes read. So,
if a participant reads for 20 minutes on December 1 and logs his minutes
into Beanstack that day, his t-shirt will be mailed to him as soon as
December 2. If however, participants waits until the end of the contest to
register and log all of their minutes at once, he will not receive his
t-shirt or any other prizes he may have won until we send out all of the
prizes in mid-February. In other words, register as soon as registration
opens and start logging minutes right away, every day if possible!!
PRIZES
This year, instead of a general prize pack which is the same for all
participants, prizes will be awarded based on number of minutes read. The
more a participants reads, the more prizes they will earn! When participants
log minutes each day as they read, they will receive emails with fun badges
they have earned in recognition of their efforts. Participants will also be
notified when the milestone they have reached also has a prize attached to
it.
Participants can also check out the contest leader board to see how their
number of minutes stack up against their peers. We encourage participants to
see how many minutes they can read throughout the contest period. Can you
have a reading streak each day of the contest? What prizes and badges can
you earn? The only way to find out is to register, read, and log your
minutes!!
In addition to the prizes earned based on minutes read, the participant who
read the most number of minutes in a particular grade category will win a
cash prize.
RULES FOR THE CONTEST
* Contestants must meet the eligibility criteria.
* All reading materials must meet the criteria for acceptable materials
(see below).
* All materials must be read between December 1 and January 21.
* Registration form must have the name and contact information of a
parent, guardian, or teacher.
* Not meeting the required dates for registration or logging minutes
will disqualify a contestant.
* All decisions of the judges are final.
PARENT/GUARDIAN/TEACHER
The parent/guardian/teacher is responsible for:
* Registering the student for the contest.
* Assisting the student in finding suitable extracurricular Braille
books and other materials to read for the contest.
* Verifying the student read the Braille material listed, and that the
material was read between the beginning and ending dates of the contest.
* Submitting the reading log in an accurate, complete, and timely
fashion.
The contestant, parent, guardian or teacher may be contacted if the contest
judges have questions or need additional information about an entry. Judges
may, based upon the information available to them, adjust the number of
pages or disqualify a contestant.
READING MATERIAL GUIDELINES
The overall purpose of the contest is to encourage extracurricular reading
for pleasure, so the following lists of acceptable and unacceptable contest
Braille reading materials are given. The lists also take into account the
fact that most of what students in kindergarten, first, and second grades
learn in school is connected to reading, and therefore there is not always a
clear distinction between required reading and recreational reading.
All material must have identifiable source information that can be checked
for verification such as author, publisher, or sponsoring organization.
Acceptable (recreational or independent reading)
* Books: fiction or nonfiction, hardback or paperback, Braille only or
print/Braille format, mass-produced or individually transcribed.
* Magazines.
* Newspapers in Braille or read on a Braille display (without speech)
* Stand-alone articles or tracts with identifiable authors and/or
publishers. For example, NFB Braille literature (such as banquet speeches),
or reprints of articles that originally appeared in the Braille Monitor.
* Manuals for club activities. For example, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H
Club, etc.
* Religious publications. For example, portions of the Bible, Koran,
Torah, Sunday school lessons, meditations, etc.
* Materials read in school during free-reading time, in the library, or
under any circumstance where students are allowed freedom to choose what
they read.
* Supplemental reading books to beginning reading series, such as those
that come with the Building on Patterns reading series from the American
Printing House for the Blind.
* Books from the Accelerated Reading Program list.
Not Acceptable (materials required for school assignments, reference
materials, and other reading material not designed to be read in its
entirety)
* Textbooks and related materials assigned as required reading by the
student's teacher or educational program.
* Dictionaries.
* Encyclopedias.
* Menus.
* Cookbooks
* Items without identifiable source information that can be checked for
verification, such as author, publisher, or sponsoring organization.
RECORDING YOUR READING (BEANSTACK)
To receive full credit for the number of minutes read during the contest, it
is crucial that the material read is recorded accurately. We are using
Beanstack as the tool for recording minutes read this year. First, create an
account Beanstack. If there is more than one Braille reader in your
household, you may add each reader to one central account in order to make
logging minutes easier.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING OUT THE READING LOG
* Create your account on Beanstack by visiting
https://actionfund.beanstack.org.
<https://zoobean.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004581241-How-patrons-cre
ate-an-account-and-add-readers> Video: How to create an account on Beanstack
* Material Title: Please provide the title of the book, magazine, etc.
* Author: Please give the author's name
* Number of Minutes: Record the number of minutes you have read each
day.
<https://zoobean.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/1500004251362-How-to-log-your
-reading> How to video: Logging Minutes.
Important Note:
As always, the American Action Fund does not want to exclude any interested
contest participant who cannot use Beanstack or who does not have access to
the internet. Please contact <mailto:BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org>
BrailleReadingContest at actionfund.org or call 410-659-9315 and we will be
happy to assist you.
COMMON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Q: What if I didn't know about the contest until after it began?
Can I still enter?
A: Yes, you can register using Beanstack until January 21, 2022.
2. Q: If I enter late, can I still count the minutes I have read
since December 1?
A: Yes, but only if your parent, guardian, or teacher can verify that you
read that number of minutes.
3. Q: What if I don't finish reading a book? Can I count the minutes
that I did read?
A: Yes.
4. Q: I read a lot of electronic books with a refreshable Braille
display. Are these eligible?
A: Yes Note: If using a refreshable Braille display, any speech access
associated with the Braille display must be turned off at all times during
counted reading minutes. In other words, time spent listening to books using
a Braille display or any other audio equipment, does not count in this
contest. If a beginning reader is listening to a book and actually reading
along in Braille to build up speed or accuracy, that reading time can be
counted if the parent, guardian, or teacher can verify actual Braille
reading is being done while listening.
5. Q: I have trouble finding enough Braille material for myself/my
child/my students. Do you have any suggestions?
A: Yes. The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults gives
a free Braille book each month to any blind child or adult who would like
one. The books are written for children between second and fourth grade,
although children or adults, or even slightly younger children who are
strong readers will enjoy these books. For more information about the books
being offered, and to enroll in the program, please visit
<https://www.actionfund.org/programs/braille-books-program> AAF Braille
Books Program.
You may also find appropriate reading material at
<https://www.sharebraille.org/> sharebraille.org. Once you get to the
website all you need to do is create an account and you can begin perusing
books by title, author, or category. You request books from folks who have
put Braille and print/Braille books they no longer want or need. The Action
Fund has put up more than 6000 books to take from the Kenneth Jernigan
Library.
Additional sources of Braille materials are listed in the
<https://www.actionfund.org/resources/braille-book-resources> Braille Book
Resources.
https://actionfund.org/programs/braille-readers-are-leaders
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