New York, NY — March 24, 2010 — Storyworks®, the award-winning literature and language arts magazine for grades 3-6, has expanded its online and whiteboard resources for teachers. The new interactive features – free to Storyworks subscribers – include online-exclusive plays, writing workshops, videos, downloadable skills sheets and step-by-step language arts lessons for whiteboards.

The highly engaging Storyworks, published by Scholastic, the global children's publishing, education and media company, helps teachers build reading and writing skills using high-interest nonfiction and original stories by top middle-grade authors like Avi, Lisa Yee and 2010 Newbery Award winner Rebecca Stead.

In addition, Storyworks recently announced the winner of the 13th annual "Create a Character Contest," in which students submit their ideas for fictional characters and well-known children's authors incorporate the winning character into an original story. Award-winning author Margaret Peterson Haddix recently selected a character named Bobby Murksimie from more than 9,500 student entries. Bobby, created by 11 year-old Lora Galich, a fifth grader at Immaculate Conception School in Chicago, lives in a town without fun, but still wants to be an adventurer. Ms. Haddix wrote an original short story called "The Treasure Hunt," featuring the new character. The story is illustrated and published in the April/May issue of Storyworks.

Over the years, more than 125,000 students have created characters for some of the most acclaimed and beloved middle-grade authors writing today, from Ann M. Martin and Christopher Paul Curtis to Andrew Clements and Jane Yolen.

"The Create a Character contest is just one example of how we connect children and teachers to quality middle-grade literature," said Storyworks editor Lauren Tarshis. "We expanded the magazine’s online offerings to strengthen that connection even more."

Scholastic is a leading publisher of educational magazines with 32 publications for grades pre-K-12, reaching over 25 million students and teachers across the country. Teachers rely on these publications to enhance instruction in such subjects as reading and language arts, science, math, social studies, current events, history, geography, world languages, and art.

For more information about Storyworks, visit www.scholastic.com/storyworks.

For more information about Scholastic, visit our online media room (mediaroom.scholastic.com), company blog (www.oomscholastic.com), or Twitter (www.twitter.com/scholastic).

Contact:

Scholastic
Jennifer Boggs
212.343.6619
jboggs@scholastic.com