The 2005 Language Arts Festival, jointly sponsored by the Arkansas Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts (ACTELA) and the English Department of the University of Central Arkansas, is scheduled for Saturday, February 18, 2006. The Language Arts Festival will be held in Old Main and Irby Hall on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.
The festival is open to any Arkansas accredited elementary, middle, junior high, or high school that serves students in grades 5,6,7,8, and/or 9. On-site competition is divided into two levels: Level I for grades 5, 6, and 7; Level II for grades 8 and 9. Participation will be limited to the first 50 teams returning an entry form. Two teams of six students for each level per school within a school district may compete. Participating schools will pay a registration fee of $25.00 per team, which should accompany the registration form to help defray festival expenses.
The ACTELA Festival provides an excellent individual academic competition in narrative, poetry, and expository writing, in book cover design and presentation, and in dramatic reading. The afternoon is devoted to pairs’ competition designed to test students’ knowledge of vocabulary, grammar, and usage and mechanics. All participating students will receive a certificate of participation, and winners of each division will receive awards.
Two years ago, ACTELA offered a new competition for students at both levels, the Dramatic Reading event. Students choose reading material in consultation with the classroom teacher. Texts may be published works or original work by the student. Students may read or recite the material. Presentations should express understanding and synthesis of the text. Dramatic Readings should last between 3 and 7 minutes. Winners of this competition will receive awards with winners in other categories. The winners in each level will present the winning readings before the entire Festival during the Awards Ceremony.
Lunch can be purchased in the Student Center near the Festival site.