ICHV Essay, Poetry & Art Contest Forms

ICHV Essay, Poetry & Art Contest Forms and Information

Our next contest will open in the fall of 2008, when we will announce the new topic for entries. Please check back then.

In the meantime, please feel free to review the information here and click on the links below to see video footage of some of this year's award winners reading their winning entries!

VIDEO: East St. Louis Student Honored for "Taking a Stand Against Gun Violence"
June 20, 2008

ICHV's 13th Annual Essay, Poetry and Art Contest Highlights Student Views on Gun Violence

VIDEO: De LaSalle High School Student Wins Award for Poem about Gun Violence
From CBS 2 Chicago News May 9, 2008

General Contest Information:

Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence (ICHV) is proud to invite students from Illinois schools to participate in its 13th Annual Essay, Poetry & Art Contest. The contest is endorsed by Chicago Public Schools, and a panel of local media celebrities will judge the contest. Winning essays, poems, and artwork may be displayed in local newspapers, hospitals, and courthouses as well as earn great prizes for the winning students and their schools!

Contest History:

For the past 12 years, ICHV has hosted the Essay, Poetry & Art Contest in an effort to give kids a public voice on the issue that affects them deeply. ICHV seeks to stimulate thought and discussion among Illinois students, and in turn amplify their statements and ideas in their writing and artwork in the public forum. By publicizing the winning works in the print media as well as among our members, supporters, and backers, ICHV spreads the word that children are still dying from guns at an unacceptable rate, and that all students are deeply affected by the climate of violence in our schools. After an initial round of screening judges have reviewed every submission, a select group of works are sent on to a panel of celebrity Blue Ribbon Judges. This esteemed panel selects the Blue Ribbon Winners for the Contest every year. Winning students and winning schools are awarded prizes as a way of reinforcing and validating their message. Illinois youth under 18 are unable to vote and are largely the subject of public debate without being included in that debate. This contest is a way to address and promote their feelings and thoughts on gun violence.

Contest Rules:

The ICHV Essay Poetry & Art Contest is open to all Illinois students in grades 1-12. Students may submit entries of essay, poetry or art to the contest by the given deadline. A completed entry form must accompany any and every submission. Entries must be received via postal mail by the deadline specified.

Grade Divisions for Judging:

Division One: 1st grade - 4th grade
Division Two: 5th grade - 8th grade
Division Three: 9th grade - 12th grade

All students currently in grades 1 through 12 are eligible to participate in the essay, poetry, or artwork section. ICHV will accept only one entry per student. We welcome entries from all students in Illinois.

All entries must be accompanied by a completed entry form.
Each entry must fit into one category (essay, poem, or artwork).
Written entries should be typed or written in black ink (to facilitate photocopying).
Recommended essay lengths are as follows:
Division One (grades 1-4): approximately 200 words Division Two (grades 5-8): approximately 350 words Division Three (grades 9-12): approximately 500 words.
All prose entries should follow a paragraph format; all artwork should be two-dimensional.

Winners: Typically winners are selected from each category (essay, poetry, and artwork) from each Grade Division with certain exceptions. Each winner receives a desktop computer and a $25 bookstore gift certificate, and their teachers receive a $100 bookstore gift certificate. Winners are honored at an Awards Assembly at one of the winning schools.

Classroom Suggestions:

We at ICHV understand that an educator's job is never done and that it can often be stressful to add new activities to an already packed curriculum; however, there are many simple ways in which you can implement the Essay, Poetry & Art contest in your classrooms and schools to make it easily accessible to your students. Listed below you will find a few suggestions on ways in which the Essay, Poetry & Art Contest can be promoted to students. These ideas are based on feedback from past participants, various educators and those familiar with the Essay, Poetry & Art contest. We hope that you will be able to use some or all of these ideas in your school. Good luck to you and your students, and thank you again for your participation and dedication.

How to promote the Essay, Poetry & Art contest in your school:

Use the Essay, Poetry & Art contest as part of a violence prevention week integrating other relevant discussions, activities and assignments that deal with health such as fire safety and drug use prevention.

Use the contest as a tool to teach different concepts of writing, poetry or art, such as haiku poems, persuasive essays, or color theory.

Put out a box in your classroom or main office where students can submit their entries at any time.

Use the contest as a creative outlet to recent events your students may wish to respond to, incorporate it with a lesson on current events.

We hope these suggestions get you thinking about how you would like to approach and use the contest with your students. If you have any suggestions to add or would like to provide feedback on your contest experience we would be happy to hear from you.

Questions/ Suggestions:

Any and all questions can be answered by submitting them here to ICHV. Additionally, if you have any suggestions of how ICHV could expand the Contest to reach more students, or be more accessible to Illinois Students please let us know. Furthermore, ICHV is always accepting recommendations for future contest themes. If you have a suggestion for the Essay, Poetry & Art contest theme, please submit it by using the form provided on our "Contact Us" page.