Writing Contest: Letters from the White House

Reading Rockets (PBS), Adlit.org, and the NCBLA present a creative writing contest for students. Read on:


The contest was inspired by the NCBLA project Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out. In the spirit of the book, intended to both educate and entertain children (and adults!), students in Pre-K through 12th grade are encouraged to write letters about "the experience of living or working in the Executive Mansion."


Reading Rockets suggests that children might imagine the life of the 50th President, go behind the scenes as a chef or Secret Service agent, or write as a member of a past First Family.

Students are grouped into five levels of competition:

• Level I, Pre-K and Kindergarten
• Level II, grades 1-3
  
• Level III, grades 4-6
• Level IV, 7-9
• Level V, grades 10-12

For more information (including resources for teachers) about Levels I and II (Pre-K through 3rd grade), visit the contest page at ReadingRockets.org.
For more information (including resources) about Levels II through V (4th through 12th grades), visit the contest page at AdLit.org.

A panel of judges, all of whom have lived or worked in the White House, will choose the winning entries. Winners will receive copies of Our White House and a gift certificate to Better World Books.

The contest opens on Inauguration Day, January 20th, 2009, and closes on Presidents' Day, February 16th. Winners will be announced on the April 30th.

For more information, please visit these links:

TheNCBLA.org

OurWhiteHouse.org
Letters From the White House information at OurWhiteHouse.org

ReadingRockets.org

Adlit.org (Adolescent Literacy)