New York — March 9, 2011 — Scholastic Media, a division of Scholastic Inc, (NASDAQ: SCHL) the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced the second annual WordGirl® Definition Competition – a live virtual event that will challenge students in grades 1-3 in a battle for word domination. Inspired by the educational objectives of the WordGirl television series that airs on PBS KIDS GO!, the Definition Competition brings WordGirl into the classroom, engaging students with vocabulary words through an entertaining and interactive game-show format. The event takes place Wednesday, April 27 at 1:00 PM ET at Scholastic’s New York City headquarters. It will be streamed to thousands of classrooms nationwide via a live webcast. The inaugural 2010 Definition Competition event drew more than 500,000 viewers. Scholastic has reached nearly 25 million students and teachers through its live, branded webcast events.

Classrooms are invited to participate with a video invitation from WordGirl at www.scholastic.com/wordgirldefinitioncompetition. In a game-show format hosted by WordGirl and Beau Handsome, of the "May I Have a Word" segment from the animated series, the event will consist of three short rounds of play, and a bonus round. Contestants will test their vocabulary skills as they are asked questions pertaining to word usage, reading comprehension, definitions, and the use of words in different contexts. Classes across the country will play along in real-time by submitting answers online during the webcast. Classes and their answers may be called out during the event.

"We are delighted to bring back the WordGirl Definition Competition to classrooms nationwide, to enrich children's vocabulary with an entertaining, engaging experience for kids and adults alike," said Deborah Forte, President of Scholastic Media and Executive Vice President of Scholastic Inc. "WordGirl demonstrates the power of a strong vocabulary and the event is a great opportunity for students to participate in that experience."

Teachers can register for the free webcast at www.scholastic.com/wordgirldefinitioncompetition. All teachers of grades 1-3 who register will automatically be entered into the WordGirl Definition Competition sweepstakes for a chance to win books and prizes for their school or classroom. Click here for official rules.*

For the second year in a row, WordGirl will serve as the national "Ambassador of Summer Reading," in conjunction with the annual Scholastic Summer Challenge. She has adopted summer reading as her cause, encouraging kids to read books over the summer because reading introduces new words, and new words, in turn, make better readers. In her Ambassador role, WordGirl will officially kick off the Summer Challenge after the Definition Competition event. She will appear in digital ads and promotional videos about the importance of summer reading that will air online at www.scholastic.com/summer and on Scholastic's YouTube channel. WordGirl will make appearances across the country, at events with Governors' spouses who are joining Scholastic to promote summer reading in their states.

WordGirl® airs five days a week on PBS KIDS GO! (check local listings) and has won numerous parenting and industry excellence awards since its debut, including a 2008 Emmy Award for "Best Writing in Animation," a Television Critics Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Children's Animation," a Gracie Award for its portrayal of a strong female character, a KidScreen Award for "Best Voice Talent," and an iParenting Media Award. It was nominated for a 2009 Emmy for "Best Direction in an Animated Series." New episodes of the Emmy Award-winning animated series are set to air in July.

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited. Subject to all applicable laws. Register by April 22, 2011 to be automatically entered in the “WordGirl Definition Competition Webcast Sweepstakes.” Open to legal residents of the U.S. who are teachers of grades 1-3. One Grand Prize consisting of: school set of at least 500 books; classroom set of 30 copies of the Scholastic Children’s Dictionary and the Scholastic’s Children’s Thesaurus; and classroom set of 30 “WordGirl Prize Packs” Grand Prize Approximate Retail Value (ARV): $6,545.80. Two Second Prizes, each consisting of one Scholastic Children’s Dictionary, one Scholastic Children’s Thesaurus and one “WordGirl Prize Pack” Second Prize ARV: $134.86 each. Click here to read the official rules.

Media Contacts:

Meghan Newton or John Michael Kennedy
Goodman Media International
mnewton@goodmanmedia.com or jmkennedy@goodmanmedia.com
212.576-2700

Bloggers: a direct link and embed code for the WordGirl animated invitation is available at http://www.scholastic.com/wordgirldefinitioncompetition/

Photos from last year’s Definition Competition are available.