The 6th Annual �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival will feature a Teen Zone specifically for adolescent and teen readers, giving young readers an opportunity to connect with authors, foster their own love of reading, and even participate in a writing workshop specifically for their age group.

“Give kids the opportunity to read, write, share, have fun, and explore their creativity, and they will find their inner voice,” says Dr. Elsie Olan, assistant professor of language arts education. “That’s what we try to offer as part of the �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival each year – a chance for teenagers to turn their love of reading and their enthusiasm for a good story into becoming writers themselves.”

Tweens and teens will also be invited to join Camp Half Blood where they will train and prepare for an epic quest, searching for objects that have gone missing from Mt. Olympus. The young readers and aspiring heroes in grades 5-12 will get to experience events from both the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the Heroes of Olympus series. The activity is free but spaces are limited.

“It is important for teens to immerse themselves in literature, especially when they are reading old favorites that they come back to again and again,” Dr. Yolanda Hood, Department Head of the Curriculum Materials Center, tells us. “Bringing books to life allows teens the opportunity to understand their favorite stories on a whole other level, to dig a little deeper. Becoming a character and experiencing what the characters do helps teens think more about the motivations of the character; teens have to work through the symbolism and metaphor in order to problem solve – all while having a whole lot of fun. And, kids or teens who have never read the books leave wanting to get their hands on those books as quickly as possible. It’s a great way to reach reluctant readers.”

The Teen Writing Workshop will be open to young readers and aspiring authors ages 13-18, and offers them a chance to work with �鶹ӳ����ý faculty in small-group writing activities, get feedback from peers and published authors, and explore new genres with their own writing. The writing workshop is also free of charge, and teens can register now to reserve their spot.

The 2015 �鶹ӳ����ý Book Festival takes place April 18th, 2015, on the �鶹ӳ����ý campus. Festival activities will take place in all three buildings on the education campus – the Teaching Academy, , and Education Complex. There will also be food trucks for everyone to enjoy in between panels, readings, and activities.

On Friday, Oct. 25, local librarians, teachers, and education faculty and students from the �鶹ӳ����ý will be taking part in a Hunger Games of their own.

“Hunger Games in the Classroom” is a collaboration among Central Florida educators to study how the popular Suzanne Collins trilogy can be used as an educational tool. The event will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. in �鶹ӳ����ý’s Curriculum Materials Center on the first floor of the Education Complex.

Participants will compete in challenges that teach teamwork and literacy skills and play games that test their knowledge of various school subjects.

For a live-action version of the Hunger Games, participants, or “tributes,” will be split into teams of four and will compete with each other in a series of fun, educational games until only one team is left standing.

Survival games will highlight the flexibility of “The Hunger Games” challenge as a method for teaching different subjects.

Besides competing in games and winning prizes, participants will gain valuable teaching resources and methods to utilize in their own classrooms. They’ll also talk about Hunger Games-related themes such as government, food disparity and dystopian societies and how they can use the young-adult fiction to incorporate those topics into their lessons.

“Everyone loves ‘The Hunger Games,’” said event organizer Yolanda Hood. “When students of all ages are excited about a book or book series, we can use that as an opportunity to engage them in the classroom.”

A movie based on the series’ second book, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” is set for a Nov. 22 U.S. release.

Registration for the �鶹ӳ����ý event is open to anyone interested, but space is limited. To register, call the Curriculum Materials Center at 407-823-2791.

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