Scott Young, Spring ISD director of secondary English Language Arts, top row, from left, Kenisha Williams, Twin Creeks Middle School assistant principal, Dario Villota, Twin Creeks principal, are joined by the winners of the Twin Creeks Battle of the Books, front row, from left, Emma Rodriguez, Alexander Tran, Darian Paul, Ashelia Blackshire, Jessie Nelson, Victoria Gurgos and Britany Simmons.

HOUSTON – April 12, 2016 – Twin Creeks Middle School students were eager to discover their reading knowledge and skills as they competed in the first-ever Twin Creeks Battle of the Books on March 22.

The reading initiative was a campus wide academic event aimed to teach students the importance of collaboration, problem solving, team work, respectful competition, and critical and creative thinking, as they met literature expectations in a readers bowl.

The competition was developed by campus administrators at Twins Creeks and the campus literacy team in order to generate enthusiasm among all sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students.

The reading selections for the competition were “A Single Shard,” “Catherine Called Birdy,” “On My Honor,” “The Black Pearl” and “The Midwife’s Apprentice.” The students received the selections a month in advance, and prepared to answer detailed questions about events and characters from the selections to test their familiarity with the books.

According to Kenisha Williams, Twin Creeks assistant principal, the purpose of the event was to engage the students in literacy activities that they would enjoy, and want to join in a friendly competition.

“We really wanted to get the kids engaged at all levels,” said Williams.“They had time to read, discuss, share and prepare for the competition. They all uniquely came up with posters and names for the competition. They also brought out their families, which to us is great, because they are giving them all tremendous support.”

Williams looks forward to next year’s competition and is hopeful to get even more students involved in this and other literacy projects across the campus and the district.