Scholastic Summer Challenge™ on THE STACKS

What is the Summer Challenge Live! Webcast?

On April 30th, the Summer Challenge kicks off on THE STACKS with a Summer Challenge Live! Webcast at 1:00 p.m. ET / 10:00 a.m. PT. The four teams Summer Challenge teams (Green, Yellow, Blue, and Purple) will compete in a live game show which will be broadcast online. Each team will be represented by two (real! live!) contestants. The contestants will play three game show rounds, earning points for their online team by answering trivia questions about books and authors (pretty broad topic, but they were given a "Suggested Reading List" before hand and it's multiple choice, so they should be racking up points for your team, no sweat).

But the Summer Challenge Live! Webcast isn't just for watching! Each round will have an online question that YOU can answer to help the contestants earn bonus points.

Watch live at www.scholastic.com/summer on April 30th. If April 30th already happened, click on over to see the archived video.

How do I compete in the Summer Challenge on THE STACKS?

All you have to do to participate is sign into your account on THE STACKS and go to www.scholastic.com/summer. If you do not have an account on THE STACKS, you can sign up for one here!

When you go to the Summer Challenge website, you'll take a quick quiz and will be assigned to a team: Green, Purple, Blue, or Yellow. (At the start of the Challenge in May, you'll get to vote on your mascot, motto, and fight song too!)

Teams will earn points based on the number of minutes they read and their participation on the site. You'll also be reading for charity! Every month, your team captain will remind you which cause you're reading for. And at the end of the summer, the team with the highest score will get to choose where Scholastic will donate books!

How do I earn points for my team?

 

Every day, visit the challenge, click on the "Enter Your Minutes" tab, and enter the number of minutes you have read into the slider. Every minute logged during the contest is worth one point for your team.

After you have logged your minutes, click on the “Boost Your Points” button under your stats on the right side of the page —

 

— to make your minutes worth more. Each week, there will be a trivia quiz about the Featured Book-of-the-Week. Getting a perfect score on the quiz will double the point value of your minutes!

Passing the quiz will also unlock the Game of the Month. Beating the Game of the Month will make your minutes worth 3x as much! (Don't worry, you can keep playing even after you've beat the game.)

And if you thought that was it, well, you'd be wrong! Every week, there will be a new poll question. The team who has the most people answer the poll will earn bonus points for that week. Remember to come back each week to take a new poll!

What do my points earn me?

Read for a Cause

We know how much helping others matters so we've teamed up with the Save the Children organization! Each month, your team will compete to win the Team Award for a cause:

May - your reading supports Early Childhood Literacy.

June - your reading supports Physical Activity and Nutrition.

July - your reading supports Literacy.

August - your reading supports Emergency Relief.

Check out the links to learn more about the issues you're helping to solve. At the end of the summer, Scholastic will make a $25,000 donation to Save the Children to support the causes you were learning about! The team with the most points at the end of the summer will choose one of these four causes to support with an extra book donation from Scholastic!

Awards and Prizes

There are tons of different awards and prizes in the Challenge! (And who doesn't love prizes? No one, that's who!) First, there are the team awards and prizes:

Participation Awards will be given each week to the team with the most members answering the poll question.

Monthly Team Awards for a Cause will be given each month to the team with the most points earned during that month.

Grand Prize will go to the team with the most points at the end of the contest. The winning team gets to vote on which Save the Children program will receive a special book donation from Scholastic.

The awards for your team will be displayed in three places: 1. The "See Your Stats" tab on the main Challenge page2. Your STACKS profile after you have downloaded the Summer Challenge widget3. On a printable certificate which will be available at the end of the summer.

Then, there are the personal (that's right, they're all yours!) SmartyCard rewards you earn for logging minutes. The first 20 minutes you read earns you one SmartyCard reward. After that, you get a reward at 60 minutes (1 hour), 240 minutes (4 hours), and 500 minutes (just over 8 hours). SmartyCard rewards can be redeemed for prizes such as games and DVDs at www.smartycard.com.

Read for the World Record Challenge

This summer, Scholastic Book Fairs is bringing you the World Record Challenge. If you choose to participate, you can count the minutes that you read this summer toward both the Summer Challenge on THE STACKS and the World Record Challenge. The World Record Challenge tracks minutes by your school, so be sure to check out www.scholastic.com/bookfairs/record to see how your school is doing.

If you want your minutes to count towards the World Record Challenge, you can do it at the same time that you enter minutes for the Summer Challenge on THE STACKS. When you're on your Home Base and logging minutes on the "Enter Your Minutes" tab, just check the box where it says, "World Record Challenge" and then select your school from the list.

How do I enter my minutes?

Click on the "Enter Your Minutes" tab and enter the number of minutes you have read into the slider.

 

Remember to log your minutes daily. Every minute logged during the contest is worth one point for your team.

You can enter minutes into any day that has a zero, but once you enter your minutes, you can't make a change - so be careful when you type!

If you're joining the Challenge partway through the summer, you can still get credit for the reading you did before logging on. Just pick the week from the drop down menu that you want to enter minutes for.

 

And if you want your minutes to count for the World Record too, just check the World Record Challenge box when you're entering your minutes.

 

You'll get an extra screen where you'll select your state, city, and school for the World Record Challenge.

How do I track my personal points and my team score?

Personal Stats

Your score will be in the score box :

 

When you enter minutes, it will automatically update, so it will always have your latest minutes read and points earned. Your SmartyCard progress will also be tracked there.

Team Stats

The "See Your Stats" tab is where you can see how your team is doing.

 

Profile Widget - Coming Soon!

Soon, there will be a Summer Challenge widget for your STACKS profile. So if you're in a hurry, you'll be able to keep track of your stats and your team's progress straight from your profile. When it's available, you'll be able to add the widget to your STACKS profile from your Home Base page.

Top Team Readers

Want proof you're the best? The readers on each team with the most minutes read will be featured in the "Top Team Readers" area every week right under the team captain.

Besides earning points for my team, what else can I do on the Summer Challenge?

 

Even if you’re not logging any minutes today, there’s still plenty to do! Every week, we’ll feature a different Book-of-the-Week. After you take the trivia quiz to double your minutes, be sure to explore all the beyond-the-book goodies we’ve rounded up for you — from book-based games to author videos to behind-the-scenes tidbits about the creation of the story. And you can post your personal review or chat with other kids about the book on our message boards.

Exclusive Celebrity Messages

Throughout the summer, you'll also hear from favorite authors and celebs through special Summer Challenge videos. Keep an eye out for Jake T. Austin from Wizards of Waverly Place, Keke Palmer from True Jackson, VP, recording artist Lil' Mama, and author Meg Cabot, among many others! Check back every week for a brand spanking new video addition.

Sweepstakes - Coming Soon!

Every week, we'll be giving away 20 autographed copies of our Books-of-the-Week* and 20 SmartyCards with a value of $10 each. AND every other week, five lucky kids will win KidZui memberships. So when you're Boosting Your Minutes each week, be sure to enter our sweeps for a chance to win.

*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling will not be signed.  

Reading Roster

For a sneak peek at all the Books-of-the-Week, head over to the Reading Roster. For each featured title, you'll find everything from games to book excerpts, and from author Q&As to exclusive slideshows. And, from the Reading Roster, you can jump right to the message board conversation about the Books-of-the-Week. Plus, we've got a printable Reading Roster to take with you - on vacation, to the local library, to the bookstore, wherever!

Captain Calendar

Get to know the team captains - all kids like you! Check out their favorite books, their hobbies, their STACKS profiles, and their favorite assignments as members of Scholastic's Kids Press Corps.

Message Boards

Everyone's buzzing about the Summer Challenge, so we're turning the STACKS Reading Buzz Board into the spot for Summer Challenge chatting. Hang out on the Book-of-the-Week dedicated threads or join the general community discussion about favorite books, authors, series, and more.

If you're already spending time on a different board for your favorite book or series (like Harry Potter, Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls, or The 39 Clues), don't worry. We would never ask you to abandon those boards. They'll be going strong all summer long too!

What are the Summer Challenge Sweepstakes? How can I enter?

Starting May 4th, there are three sweepstakes and lots of awesome prizes. You can easily access them when you're boosting your minutes. Or, you can get to them from www.scholastic.com/summer.

Weekly Book Giveaway

Every week, we'll be giving away 20 autographed copies of the Book-of-the-Week.* You can only enter once each week, but you can enter as many weeks as you want. So keep coming back for your chance to win!

*Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling will not be signed.  

SmartyCard Sweepstakes

Every week, 20 lucky kids will each win a SmartyCard with a $10 value. The SmartyCards can be redeemed for prizes such as games, DVDs, toys, and online subscriptions at www.smartycard.com. You're only allowed to enter once each week, but you can enter every week for a new chance to win.

KidZui Sweepstakes

Every other week, five winners will get a KidZui membership each. With KidZui, there are more than a million places to explore. Plus, you can create KidZui avatars and share and tag content with friends. Check back every two weeks to enter the sweeps again.