ReadThis

Revolutionising the book review

New year – new challenge
The National Literacy Trust and Oxford University Press are kicking off 2012 by launching ReadThis, a new competition for all UK secondary schools that will run from Monday 9 January to Friday 16 March 2012.  

What’s it all about?

We know that for teenagers, friends are an important influencer on attitudes and behaviour towards reading; our 2008 Self-perceptions as readers research found that the materials pupils believed their friends are reading largely mirrored their own reading choices, and their perceptions of how their friends view readers also closely resembled their own views of readers. The ReadThis competition provides teachers with a platform for engaging students with reading using the power of peer-to-peer recommendation. It gives a new edge to book reviewing by asking students to put a “creative marketing” spin on the task in hand.

How does it work?

Your students are ambitious publishers with a fantastic new book to promote. They love the book, and want to persuade others to go out and read it too. How can they promote the book in a creative way that will grab people’s attention?

To enter the ReadThis competition, students must choose a book that they have read and enjoyed, then put themselves in the shoes of the book’s publisher and promote the book in the most creative way they can think of, with a specific audience in mind – their peers.

We want to be surprised, so the more imaginative the campaign the better! It’s all about creating a buzz around the book, thinking of imaginative ways of getting people’s attention and being persuasive. All shapes and sizes will be accepted - whether it’s a Facebook campaign (for those over 13 years old!), a blog, a promo video, a poster, an interview, a rap or something else entirely…

Once they have done their campaigns, students complete our entry template explaining what it involved, and should attach any supporting materials that help illustrate what the campaign was all about (photos, podcasts, posters, links to a blog or school website and so on).

The entry that the judging panel believes to be the most creative and persuasive will be selected as the winner. The panel will include a student representative!

The prizes

We’ve got some great prizes up for grabs for the winning student and their school:

For the school:

• An exciting visit from top children's author Ali Sparkes!
• Vouchers from Oxford University Press to spend on their Secondary English resources, worth a massive £500.

For the student:

• A book voucher from Oxford University Press worth £50 that can be used on any title – so that they can keep on reading.
• A voucher for www.amazon.co.uk worth £50 – we hope that whatever they use it for they write a review, so that they can keep up with the peer recommendation!

What are we looking for?

A high quality entry will:

• be creative
• be attention-grabbing
• appeal to the target audience – students’ peers
• tell us why the book is worth a read

How can this fit in with school activities?

The ReadThis competition could make a great classroom activity in an English, Media or Business Studies lesson, a fun project for a lunchtime or after-school club, a tutor time activity or a library-based challenge.

We have produced an eye-catching downloadable A3 poster promoting the ReadThis competition, to help you raise awareness around school. Download poster.

Members of our Schools Network will also be able to access suggested activities to complement this competition and general ideas for encouraging peer recommendation in school.

• Bringing the competition to life in school. Download (network members only) 
• General peer recommendation ideas. Download (network members only)

The nitty gritty – how to enter

Once they have done their campaigns, students must complete our entry template explaining what it involved, and should attach any supporting materials that help illustrate what the campaign was all about. These might be photos, posters, or links to online content such as blogs, podcasts or the school’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).

These entries then need to be sent to the National Literacy Trust, along with an overall entry form for the school by post to:

ReadThis competition
National Literacy Trust
68 South Lambeth Road
London
SW8 1RL

Entries must be received by 5pm on Friday 16 March.

Download student entry template   
Download school entry form 
Download competition rules