The Department of Education, through the Bureau of Learning Resources, has announced its 4th National Competition on Storybook Writing for 2022.
The competition is divided in four categories namely: Category 1, Storybooks for Grades 4,5, and 6; Category 2, Manuscripts for Grades 1, 2, and 3; Category 3, Wordless story books for kindergarten; and Category 4, Manuscripts for Grades 4,5, and 6.
In his memorandum circular dated August 30, 2022, Epimaco V. Densing III, DepEd Undersecretary and chief of staff, announced the official guidelines and mechanics of the storytelling contest.
Contest Guidelines and Mechanics (Grades 4,5, and 6)
I. Background
The Department of Education, through the Bureau of Learning Resources, continues to work on harvesting the best reading resources to support several reading programs such as the “Hamon: Bawat Bata Bumabasa” or DepEd Memo 173, series of 2019, the multi-sectoral “Brigada Pagbasa”, among other reading initiatives in all governance levels of the system.
Furthermore, engaging reading resources, particularly storybooks for children, play a vital role in closing the gaps in reading and literacy, such as the identified ranking of the Philippines in international reading and literacy surveys.
After the successful First Volume of the National Competition on Storybook Writing (NCSW), comprising the first (2017), second (2018), and third (2019) editions, the Department was able to collect 492 storybooks addressing the learning competencies of Kindergarten to Grade 3 levels. Finalized storybooks were made available through the DepEd Learning Resources Portal (lrmds.deped.gov.ph) and were transformed into storytelling videos, audiobooks, animations, and multimedia for various programs promoting the love of reading.
As the next step, the Second Volume of the NCSW aims to address the need for engaging stories appropriate for visual readers through wordless storybooks for Kindergarten; stories for beginning readers of Grades 1, 2, and 3; and illustrated storybooks for intermediate and hobby readers of Grades 4, 5, and 6.
II. Objectives
The Competition aims to:
2.1 appreciate the role of stories and illustrated storybooks as a tool in the development of reading and of learning curricular content standards; 2.2 harvest original stories that demonstrate learning competencies of the K to 12 basic education curriculum;
2.3 recognize the skills and talents of classroom teachers and non-teaching personnel in the production of storybooks for basic education; and
2.4 contribute to the treasury of content materials for utilization as reading resources and transformation to engaging media.
III. Mechanics for Category 1: Storybooks for Grades 4, 5, and 6
3.1 Description: This Category is aimed at the production of storybook packages addressing
one or a combination of the most essential learning competencies for Grades 4, 5, and 6.
3.2 Qualifications: This Category is open to all DepEd teaching and non-teaching personnel
with permanent status and with no membership in any committee of the Competition.
3.3 Mechanics:
3.3.1 Division Manuscript Screening
a. Interested participants may submit one (1) entry per grade level.
b. Entries submitted for one level may not be submitted in another grade level.
c. Only one writer is allowed in each story.
d. There shall be no editor or auxiliary development team at this level of the
Competition.
e. The Division Technical Working Committee (TWC), as approved by the
Division Management Committee, has the autonomy to conduct activities
relevant to the conduct of this level of the competition (e.g., campaign drive,
training, submission of entries, the conduct of district-level screening, and
awarding ceremonies for winners).
(Enclosure to DepEd Memorandum No. , s. 2022)
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f. The Division Screening Committee (SC) as facilitated by the Division TWC, shall select the best three (3) manuscripts per grade level. In cases of a tie, the head of the Division SC shall determine the final list of winners.
g. Non-winning entries may be subjected to quality assurance for possible illustration and/or uploading to the DepEd Learning Resource Portal by the Division LRMS.
h. Certificate of Recognition shall be issued to the winners, while a Certificate of Participation shall be given to all writers of participating entries compliant with the rules of the Competition.
3.3.2 Division Manuscript Illustration
a. The best three (3) winning stories per grade level shall be illustrated through any of the following options:
Option 1: Division Contest on Manuscript Illustration
Option 2: Illustration by illustrators chosen and managed by winning writers
Option 3: Illustration by illustrators chosen and managed by the Division TWC
b. Illustrators may submit up to two (2) entries, regardless of grade level.
c. There shall only be one illustrator per story.
d. Only one layout artist may be added as an auxiliary member of the development team. The same qualifications as those of the illustrators are applied to layout artists. Recognition of such is limited to being a member of the development team.
e. The Division Screening Committee (SC) as facilitated by the Division TWC, shall select the best three (3) illustrated stories for children per grade level. In in cases of a tie, the head of the Division SC shall determine the final list of winners.
f. Certificate of Recognition shall be issued to the winners, while a Certificate of Participation shall be given to all writers of participating entries compliant with the rules of the Competition.
g. All winning storybooks, along with competition reports, shall be transmitted to the Regional TWC for the next phase of the Competition.
3.3.3 Judging at the Regional Level
a. Only the best three (3) storybooks per grade level officially endorsed by the Division TWCs are considered official entries in this level of the Competition.
b. The Regional TWC shall screen the entries in terms of compliance with the standards, specifications, and mechanics of the Competition.
c. The Regional SC, as facilitated by the Regional TWC, shall select the best three
(3) storybooks per grade level. In cases of a tie, the head of the Regional SC shall determine the final list of winners.
d. Certificate of Recognition shall be issued to the winners, while a Certificate of Participation shall be given to all writers of participating entries compliant with the rules of the Competition.
e. Non-winning storybooks may be subjected to quality assurance for possible uploading to the DepEd LR Portal by the Regional LRMS.
3.3.4 Transmittal to the National Technical Working Committee
a. The Regional TWC shall prepare the following for official transmittal:
Five (5) printed final copies of the winning storybooks per title
Official Entry Forms of writers and illustrators duly accomplished
One (1) flash drive containing the PDF and editable copies of the
storybooks
Duly signed Competition Reports
Composition of Committees in the Division and Regional Levels
b. Printing through commercial printing presses or professional printers is not
recommended. Personal printers or printers readily available at home and in
offices may be used.
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c. Any type of durable binding may be used (e.g., saddle stitch, smyth sewn,
perfect, or glued).
d. Transmittal to the National TWC shall be through the fastest courier service available, with a date stamp reflecting the deadline or prior.
e. An option to transmit by personal submission may be communicated to the National TWC, and may only be accepted from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on the last day of submission.
3.3.5 Judging at the National Level
a. The National TWC shall code all submitted entries to adhere to blind screening.
b. An elimination round shall be conducted by the National TWC. Such shall be
limited to checking compliance to competition mechanics and technical standards.
c. Members of the National SC shall individually select an indefinite number of storybooks to present to the panel.
d. Entries selected by at least two (2) members of the National SC shall be considered finalists. These finalists shall be called ReadEx Picks and are exhibited during the Reading Exhibit, an activity concurrent with the Awarding Ceremonies.
e. All ReadEx Picks are considered for the final deliberations of the National SC.
f. The Top Five (5) storybooks per grade level shall be determined through the final deliberations.
g. The National SC shall determine the Best Illustrator among the illustrators of the Top Five (5) regardless of the ranking of their winning storybooks. All the other four winning illustrators shall receive an Illustrator’s Prize.
You can check the mechanics for Categories 2,3, and 4 HERE.
For interested parties, please contact Dr. Besy C. Aganata, Chief Education Program Specialist, Bureau of Learning Resources-Learning Resources Production Division (BLR-LRPD) through email at b1r.lrpd@deped.gov.ph or at telephone numbers (02) 8632-3690 and (02) 8634-0901.
