Information about conducting team meetings, a time-line, forms and other resources are available in the Intermediate Coach Manual.
Competition Requirements
- Teams are made up of six to twelve students in grades 4, 5 and 6. Teams are encouraged to be inclusive and to have a mix of gender, ages and reading ability in their make-up.
- Teams may include two alternates. No more than 14 students per team may attend the competition in May.
- A Team Coach is responsible for:
- Being an adult supervisor to the team.
- Meeting with the team periodically to distribute the books and to make sure all are being read.
- Conducting book discussions and practice questions with the students for the competition. These activities should occur on a regular basis, about every two weeks for 15-20 minutes, with meetings occurring more frequently as the competition gets closer.
- Accompanying the team to the Olympics competition (May 2011) and supervising the team participants.
- Students will work together as a team to collectively read 20 books prior to the May competition.
- It is the expectation that teams will practice at their center, library or school by using practice questions, creating their own questions, and book discussions on an ongoing basis.
- Teams are encouraged to come up with a team name, such as “Reading Rascals.” Teams are also encouraged to decorate the back of their official Philadelphia Reading Olympics t-shirt with their team name and logo to help create unity and excitement. These t-shirts must be worn to to the competition, usually over the school uniforms.
Competition Rules and Procedures
- Teams will be asked questions about the 20 books; team members collaborate on the answers and one team member responds.
- Teams have only 15 seconds to answer the question.
- Each team participates in three rounds of twenty questions each, earning one point for each correct answer.
- If the first team cannot answer their question in 15 seconds, the second team will have an opportunity to immediately provide an answer, earning more points for their team.
- Team scores are cumulative for all rounds.
- Each team represents their institution, organization or school. Considerate and courteous behavior is expected from all participants.
- Parents are encouraged to attend the competition as spectators.
