FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK
ESSAY CONTEST
Forests provide us with many things-clean air and water; beautiful places to play and relax; homes for birds, fish and other wildlife; and numerous products for people. To celebrate National Forest Products Week (October 16-22, 2011) the Idaho Forest Products Commission sponsors a statewide essay contest.
JOIN THE FUN! Encourage your students to enter the contest to practice authentic writing and learn more about Idaho's forests.
Who may enter? ALL K-12 STUDENTS IN IDAHO ARE ELIGIBLE FOR THE CONTEST
What are the requirements?
° Scroll down for the Background Statement, Writing Prompts and Scoring Criteria.
° Each essay must include the student name, teacher name, email, grade, school name and town.
(An easy way to accomplish this is to use adhesive labels of teacher & school information.)
° Teachers: Submit only the top five essays per class. If you send more than five per class, the judges are unable to review your essays. Teachers with multiple sections of a class (e.g. Biology) may send the top five essays per class session. Please include a list of all students who complete an essay, so we may provide a Certificate of Participation for every student.
What are the prizes?
A $150 savings bond will be awarded as a grand prize. The Grand Prize winner will be chosen from First Place winners in each of the four grade level categories. Each First Place Winner receives a beautiful certificate and a poster. Each winner's teacher receives a voucher to attend a Project Learning Tree workshop, plus posters and other resources. Honorable Mentions are named at each level. Every participating student receives a Certificate of Participation.
When are the essays due?
Essay submissions must be post-marked by October 28, 2011.
Where should the essays be sent?
Send your essays (top five per class) to:
IFPC ESSAY CONTEST
350 N. 9th Street, Suite 102
Boise, ID 83702
What if I have questions?
Visit our website at www.idahoforests.org, email plt@idahoforests.org, call 208-334-4061 or 800-ID-WOODS, or fax 208-334-3449.
BACKGROUND STATEMENT
Forests and trees provide many things-clean air and water; beautiful places to play and relax; homes for birds, fish and other wildlife; carbon storage; energy savings and numerous products for people. One of the best things about trees is that they are a renewable resource. When you harvest trees, new ones grow or can be planted. With sustainable forestry practices, our forests can continue to provide their many benefits for generations to come.
WRITING PROMPT for Grades K-5
Think about your daily life. How are you affected by products from trees and forests? Write an essay to a general audience sharing how tree and forest products touch your life, and why they are important to you. You may choose to consider one specific forest product, or generalize about a variety of products. (K-2nd graders may use any media for their "essay.")
WRITING PROMPT for Grades 6-12
Energy-related topics are in the news every day. Renewable or nonrenewable; buying local; biomass; jobs; economy; forest health; "green" building; carbon production; carbon sequestration; climate change; sustainability-the list of energy-related topics is long. Every choice we make as consumers has an energy consequence. Consider the energy impacts of using wood versus other building products. Write an essay to a general audience sharing ideas supported by your research about whether using Idaho wood is a good choice environmentally and economically or not.
| Grade levels and length |
| 9th-12th graders: Up to 500 words |
6th-8th graders: Up to 350 words |
| 3rd-5th graders: Up to 250 words |
K-2nd graders: May use any media |
| Scoring Criteria |
Subcategories |
Maximum points |
Creative thinking
(25 points total) |
Information shows individual thinking skills. |
25 |
Content accuracy
(35 points total) | |
Clearly relates to the topic. |
10 |
|---|
| Is accurate and logical. |
15 |
| Provides supporting details and/or examples. |
10 |
Clear writing including grammar, spelling and punctuation.
(30 points total) | |
Grammar, spelling and punctuation is correct. |
15 |
|---|
| Information is organized, neatly typed or written and has well constructed paragraphs. |
15 |
Overall likeability
(10 points) |
Reader was engaged by the writing and wanted to continue reading the essay. |
10 |
Total
(100 points) |
|
100 |
 
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