Deadline: April 9, 2002
The Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas State Library, and the Arkansas Reading Association are pleased to announce the annual selection process for the Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award for 2002. The book to receive this award will be selected in April 2002, by students in kindergarten, first, second, and third grades. Students in Grades K-3 participating in the selection process should have read or have heard read at least three of the books from the 2001-2002 list in order to vote. Schools should make clear to the children that they may vote for only one title.
Because of the age group involved in the Diamond Primary Book Award, the reading committee suggests that when books are read to children, teachers or library media specialist devise a plan for helping the children vote on the books. This may be accomplished in a couple of ways: (1) The teacher or library media specialist may read all the books to the children in a condensed amount of time and then ask the children to vote. (2) The teacher or library media specialist may read the books to the children over an extended period of time but conduct a review of the books with the children just prior to voting. Young children may have forgotten some of the books if the books were read at the beginning of the year.
Attached is a ballot (Form 1) to be reproduced by the school and used by the students to vote. The votes should then be tallied in each school and totals for each title should be indicated on Form 2. The results of the voting for the 2001-2002 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award will be posted in May 2002.
Form 3 has been included for schools to submit titles to be considered by the Arkansas Diamond Reading Committee for the 2003-2004 reading list. The copyright date must be 2001.
All forms should be mailed to the address listed below and postmarked by April 9, 2002:
K-12 Literacy Unit
Arkansas Department of Education
#4 State Capitol Mall, Room 401-B
Little Rock, AR 72201
Attn: Book Award
The new 2002-2003 Arkansas Diamond Primary Book Award Reading List is attached.