Literacy Days
August - September 2026

Literacy Days is an annual event in Henry County Schools that celebrates written and spoken components of literacy through opportunities for students to perform poetry recitation, drama, or writing for various audiences.

Poetry Recitation

Students select a published poem to recite from memory.

Students are scored according to a rubric on accuracy, difficulty, and expression.

Specific time limits apply to each grade band.

Each school may determine one poetry recitation winner per grade level (K-8) to move on to district-level competition. Each school will submit a recording of each grade-level poetry winner reciting his or her poem.

K-2 Writing

Students in Grades K-2 submit a piece of writing to be scored by a panel of judges.

Each school will submit one piece of student writing per grade level

Drama

A drama group is comprised of 2-10 students in the specified grade band. Students select a short drama to perform.

Student groups are scored according to a rubric based on group dynamics and overall performance.

Specific time limits apply to set-up, performance, and breakdown of the stage. A minimal number of props is allowed.

Each school may determine one drama troupe winner per grade band (K-2, 3-5, 6-8) to move on to district-level competition.
Each school will submit a recording of each grade-band drama troupe performing their drama

3-8 Writing

Students in Grades 3-8 submit a piece of writing to be scored by a panel of judges (at district competition only).

The top 3 students in each grade level are invited to participate in Ready-Writing at the district level. Students are provided a cold prompt and a specified amount of time to write.

This writing is scored by a panel of judges according to a rubric.

Each school will submit a piece of student writing per grade level (3-8).

Spelling Bee

Eligible students: Any student in Grades 3 - 5

Levels of Competition:

Classroom - Classroom spelling bees should be held November 3 - 6, 2026.
Classroom-level winners are provided to Mrs. Salter no later than November 6, 2026.
School-wide Spelling Bee November 13, 2026 8:00 - 9:00 (students only).
District-wide Spelling Bee - January 15, 2027; 9:00 am at the McDonough PAC (school winner only).
- Regional – TBD
- Georgia – TBD
- National - TBD

Rules: GAE and Scripps both provide rules and guidelines for the spelling bee. The GAE rules should be used for the school, district, regional, and state spelling bees. Official rules will be provided once they are made available. For the 26-27 school year, a vocabulary round will be implemented at the district spelling bee.

Unabridged Merriam Webster Dictionary

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