Video: Students Get Competitive Over The Egg Bowl of Reading

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NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WCBI) – Students across the state are taking part in a contest that help them read their way to the Egg Bowl. As WCBI’s Allie Martin reports, the contest is being taken very seriously by some fierce competitors at one Northeast Mississippi school.

For this contest, called “Be A Champion and Read,” New Albany Middle School students, faculty and staff choose a team.

“I’m an Ole Miss fan”

“I’m for Mississippi State.”

Then they get down to business, reading as many books as they can and earning points in the process.

“The books they read based on the length of the book, quality of the text and difficulty of the text is assigned a point value.”

The football coach required all of his team members to read a motivational book,by Dr. Ben Carson.

“I really felt like my boys, my young men needed to read this book.It might help them through some struggles they have.To see that a very successful person has the same struggles they have on a daily basis.”

The friendly competition was started last year by the Mississippi Association of Educators.MAE was approached by representatives from both the Bulldogs and the Rebels who wanted to be part of a fun project that would promote reading.

“One of the greatest ways for students to learn is not to learn because they’re trying to learn, they’re just having fund doing what they’re doing.They forget about that they’re reading for a contest.”

Some of the school’s top readers say the contest has helped them become better students.

“I love it because it can expand vocabulary and it’s just so good and fun.”

“It rewards people for reading and that’s a way to get kids who don’t like reading, hooked on it.”

The contest wraps up Friday, when points will be totaled and the winners announced. In New Albany I’m Allie Martin WCBI News.
If students read at least six books, they are entered into a drawing for Egg Bowl Tickets.Last year more than 15,000 students took part in the competition.