October 26, 2015
Dear Students and Parents,
Our school district will be holding its annual UIL (University Interscholastic League) Competition on January 9, 2016 at Tomball High School. This year our district will be hosting one big competition for all students 2nd-8th grade. The events 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders have the opportunity to participate in are Number Sense, Spelling, Ready Writing, Creative Writing, Oral Reading, Story Telling, and Chess Puzzle Solving. A full description of each event is included on my website. http://wes.tomballisd.net/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=510543&type=u&pREC_ID=848505
In following the rules of UIL, our campus will only be able to have three students for each grade level compete in each of the events to represent our school. Interested students will be selected through a pretest/tryout, which will be given at school during lunch times, on the dates below in Mrs. Bull’s room. Details will be given to the teachers for the pretest/tryouts.
Please place a check mark next to the event(s) your child is interested in and then return the signed form to Mrs. Bull by FRIDAY, October 30, 2015 If your child qualifies as one of the top five participants in the event, they will be selected to be on the WES UIL team and will practice each week until the competition. A letter will be sent home with the results after the pretest/try-outs.
We look forward to working with your child. If you have any further questions, I can be reached by email at .
Sincerely,
Jennifer Bull
Jennifer Bull
WES GT Specialist, UIL Coordinator
Please return this form to Mrs. Bull by October 30th, 2015
My child is interested in taking the UIL pretest in the following area:
______Number Sense (4th graders only)
______Oral Reading audition (4th graders only):
______Spelling (3rd & 4th graders)
______Ready Writing (3rd & 4th graders) pretest:
______Story Telling (2nd & 3rd graders)
______Creative Writing (2nd graders only)
______Chess Puzzle Solving (2nd, 3rd or 4th graders)
If selected to represent Wildwood Elementary, I will be able to attend the UIL competition on Saturday, January 9, 2015 at Tomball High School.
Student Name: ______Teacher:______
Parent Signature: ______
Explanation of UIL Events
Number Sense (4th grade): A ten-minute, mental math competition, consisting of eighty problems. No mark other than the answer can be made on the answer document. Calculators and scratch paper are not permitted. Five points are awarded for each correct answer, four points deducted for each incorrect answer and for each problem skipped.
Oral Reading (4th grade): A maximum of six minutes is given for a contestant to read a self-selected piece of poetry aloud. No costumes or props may be permitted. The contestant will be judged on the understanding of the text, appropriateness of the selections, how well the performer prepared and made the meaning of the selection clear, and how well the performer captured the essence of the literary work.
Spelling (3rd & 4th grade): A written spelling competition of fifty words, given at a rate of about five words per minute. Punctuation and legible writing are considered. A fifteen-word tiebreaker round is given as well.
Ready Writing (3rd & 4th grade): Contestants are given a choice between two prompts to analyze for the purpose of writing, format, audience, and point of view. The product may be descriptive, narrative, or persuasive. No limit in minimum or maximum number of words. A dictionary and a thesaurus may be used. The writing will be judged on interest (50%), organization (35%), and correctness of style (15%). There will be a two-hour writing limit.
Story Telling (2nd & 3rd grade): Contestants shall listen to a storyteller read a brief story (between 600 and 1100 words long) only once, and then retell that story in their own words before a judge or judges. Contestants may not use costumes or props in the contest. To tell a story, the contestant must develop skills in listening, thinking and speaking. This contest also allows for the development of creative expression.
Creative Writing (2nd grade): Contestants will be given a prompt with several captioned pictures. From these pictures, the students will create an original story based on their selections in 30 minutes. The stories must contain at least one of the pictured items, but it is not required that all items on the page be included. This contest is designed to promote creativity in an academic format and to encourage writing skills at an early grade level.
Chess Puzzle Solving (2nd, 3rd, or 4th grade): Contestants will be given a 30 objective test. Students will need to have advanced knowledge of how to play Chess AND be able to look at chess puzzles to solve the objective questions.