Little Turtle Elementary has transformed winter's long stretch into an exciting reading adventure with its second annual Reading Madness tournament. The tournament is breaking school records and inspired students to read 187,082 minutes outside of school, in just six weeks.
This innovative program, inspired by March Madness basketball tournaments, divides students into K-2 and 3-5 grade groups, featuring both Gold and Maroon brackets to keep all students engaged. Parents, Karis Norden and Kara Preston, spearheaded the tournament, creating weekly excitement through bulletin board updates, prizes, and participation tracking.
"Reading Madness provides an opportunity for kids to shine," Norden said. “I witnessed students being recognized and admired for their love of reading by teachers and classmates. What a great thing to celebrate! Students who don't typically read at home were reading during Reading Madness! I remember when I was teaching elementary school, it was difficult to return after Winter Break with enthusiasm because the winter months feel so long and the kids get restless. It's such a long stretch from Winter Break to Spring Break. I wanted to start something that everyone looked forward to.”
The statistics are impressive: 25% of students participated throughout the tournament, with top readers logging more than 1,100 minutes weekly. Last year, we noticed that once students were eliminated from the tournament, many of them stopped reading. So this year, we added two more weeks and changed the tournament from single elimination to double elimination. Grades K-2 had their tournament separate from the 3-5 tournament. Each tournament had a winner's bracket (Gold Bracket) and a consolation bracket (Maroon Bracket).
Olivia D., Jett S., Isaiah D., Noah D., Elijah D. and Kaci N. were all recognized in front of their peers for leading their grade level with the most minutes read.
The tournament culminated in a high-energy Slam Dunk convocation, featuring Columbia City High School basketball players and students playing "knockout" together. Highlights included dunks by Mr. Woll, Dean of Students, Mr. Hazen, CCHS basketball alum, and our own Columbia City Eagle Basketball Team.
The program not only encourages reading but creates a school-wide celebration of literacy, turning the winter months into an anticipated reading event that students and teachers eagerly anticipate.
Parents interested in supporting future Reading Madness events are encouraged to contact Little Turtle’s PTSO.
Congratulations, eagles! We are so proud of your initiative and dedication to reading!
Thank you, Max M., Columbia City High School Eagle Tech Academy senior for creating the video!