Every year, WES kicks off its annual March Madness reading tournament with an energetic assembly to announce the sixteen nonfiction picture books that are part of that year’s bracket. This year, staff and students got halfway through their fifth annual tournament before school closed due to coronavirus.
“Because this tournament is one of our favorite traditions at WES, we decided that it was important to find a way to continue our event virtually,” said Instructional Coach Shelly Moody.
So Mrs.Moody and Title 1 Specialist Valerie Glueck got to work. They got permission from the publishing companies and created unlisted YouTube videos for each of the Elite 8 picture books. The rebooted “May” Madness was kicked off on April 27th. Each week, WES staff share one pair of videos with their students and encourage them to vote for their favorite in Google Forms.
“We are grateful for all the students and staff who have rallied around our annual reading tournament and voted for their favorite books,” said Mrs.Moody.
WES has now made it down to the Final Four Nonfiction Picture Books: Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life: Hollywood Legend and Brilliant Inventor by Laura Wallmark, Red Rover: Curiosity on Mars by Richard Ho, Magic Ramen: The Story of Momofuku Ando by Andrea Wang, and Titan and the Wild Boars by Susan Hood & Pathana Sornhiran. This is the week that students and staff get to vote for the 2020 Nonfiction May Madness Champion. Stay tuned for a special announcement of the winning picture book in the coming weeks!
