enLIGHTenSC

• Electric cooperatives will select local winners and award monetary prizes to students and teachers.
• There are two winning categories: individual and group (2-4 students).
• The individual statewide grand prize winner will receive $500.
• The statewide group winners share the $500 prize.
• The supervising teacher will also receive $250.
• The statewide winner(s) will be announced in the South Carolina Living magazine and on social media.
• Winners will be recognized at the South Carolina State House.
• Winners will receive bound copies of their printed books.
• Bound editions of each are sent to elementary schools throughout South Carolina.

How can you stay safe around electricity?

1. How is energy transferred from place to place by electric current? 
2. How is electricity delivered to our communities? (lineman, poles, bucket trucks, lines, etc.)  
3. In what forms can electricity be dangerous or harmful? 
4. What protections do co-ops put in place to keep the electricity they deliver safe?
5. How can I make sure I stay safe around electricity
6. How can you balance your curiosity about electricity with safety?
7. What are some of the best safety rules to remember about electricity?
8. What are some interesting facts about electrical safety?
9. Why must we handle electricity safely?

Eligibility

The Children’s Book Challenge is open to fourth and fifth-grade South Carolina students. Students, individually or in groups of up to four, must develop their entries under the supervision of an adult who can provide general guidance and help ensure the entry adheres to the contest rules. The story and illustrations must be the students’ work and, when finished, submitted either electronically using the StoryJumper platform or through a paper book provided by your local co-op. Keep all original artwork as we may want to scan it and disseminate it more widely.

Tasks

Write and illustrate a children’s book that focuses on the theme of  Staying Safe Around Electricity

• Entries will be judged on originality of story and the creative connection of words, illustrations, and content to energy, cooperatives, and how co-ops connect communities. Each book must have a clear title, author, and illustrator.
• Books may be fiction or nonfiction.
• Entries must include an “Author’s Summary” or small introduction and a photograph of the author(s) on the inside back cover. Do the same for the illustrator if it is a different person. Include sources you used to do research for writing your book. List websites and print materials used.  Also, list your electric co-op contact’s name and when/how you communicated with them.
  • An example of a complete Author’s Summary:
    “My name is Jane Smith. I am a fifth grader at Super Fantastic Elementary School in Small Town, SC.  I researched my topic on the EnlightenSC website by reading the Learn About Energy section and watching the videos on the Children’s Book Challenge page and 5th grade page.  I also visited eia/kidsd.gov to learn all about energy. My co-op contact was John Doe at ACME Electric Cooperative, which is near my school.  To learn more about the co-op and energy, I spoke with him on the phone on October 5 and again on October 20. He was very helpful.”
• The maximum number of pages is 24 which includes the cover, the Author’s Summary, and the glossary.
• Each entry may use up to two pages for glossary terminology if desired.

Grading Rubric

For more than 80 years, the electric cooperatives in South Carolina have been transforming lives, families and communities with electricity and community support. We want to celebrate that outstanding history with an opportunity for young people to learn what cooperatives are, how they started, and how electricity impacts our lives. The electric cooperatives in South Carolina value education and realize students are the problem solvers of the future. Becoming an energy-literate society is essential to overcoming our future energy challenges. Writing a children’s book on energy allows students to widen their knowledge of our state’s energy possibilities.