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A reading competition for students in Grades 4 and above ...

 

 

The Battle of the Books Program is a VOLUNTARY reading competition designed to promote the love and appreciation of reading in students in Grades 4 - 8.   Books for the competition are typically award-winners from a variety of genres.

 

Teams consist of three students apiece; a team of two students is acceptable, as long as it is understood that another member may not be added to the team after the first competition has begun without discussion with Mrs. Christianson.  

 

Students should realize that they are making a commitment to a team for the year when they sign up, and quitting the competition can only occur after discussion with the team and Mrs. Christianson.

 

Grades 4 and 5
Middle School

Download Permission Forms Here

 

Grades 4 and 5 each hold their own Battles with different reading selections.  The format for the three Battles, however, is the same.

 

Teams choose a spokesperson and work together to answer 8 to 12 questions (depending upon the number of teams participating).  The questions are in two formats:

 

IWB Questions:  These questions present a fact from a novel and ask, "In what book did .... [situation]?"  The spokesperson must answer with the correct title and name of author. 

 

Factual Questions:  These questions identify the book and students must dig deeply into their memories to recall specific facts or details from the story.  An example might be, "In the book Hold Fast, what did Early name the project she created to give kids  without homes an opportunity to share their stories?  {Answer:  Home Dreams.}

 

NEW FOR 2015 - 2016:  Quote Rounds!  In these rounds, teams go head-to-head to be the first to answer IWB questions that give a quote from a book.  Quote Rounds will be sandwiched between IWB and Factual Rounds.  More information can be found in the "Permission Forms," linked above.

 

 

 

Download Permission Forms Here

 

Grades 6, 7, and 8 may form mixed-grade teams to participate in BOB.  This year (2015 - 2016), we will be trying out a different format for middle-school competitions.  Because we are a 1:1 middle school program, we'll be incorporating technology into our BOB format. 

 

The middle school competition will be one epic battle on seven different books, held at lunch/recess over two days in January.

 

1)  Incarceron by Catherine Fischer  (Fantasy)

2)  Schooled  by Gordon Korman  (Visiting Author – February 5; Realistic Fiction)

3)  The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (Supernatural; Newbery Winner)

4)  Legend  by Marie Lu (Dystopian Fantasy)

5)  The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt (Historical Fiction)

6)  House of the Scorpions by Nancy Farmer (Dystopian Fantasy)

7)  The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Newbery Winner – 2015; Realistic Sports Fiction told in poetry)

 

Round One:  Kahoot.  Teams will work together to answer  15-20  IWB questions using Kahoot.   Students will be given 45 seconds to answer each question.  This battle will be held at lunch/recess on Wednesday, January 27.

 

Round Two:  Literary Feud.  Teams will compete head-to-head to answer factual questions about the books.  This battle will be the following day at lunch/recess on Thursday, January 28.

Grade 4

Wednesday, October 14 at 3:30 pm

 

The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors

When Life Gives You OJ by Erica Perl

Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin

 

Wednesday, January 20 at 3:30 pm

 

Ninth Ward by Jewel Parker Rhodes

Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen by Eric Berlin

 

Wednesday, March 16 at 3:30 pm

 

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

Free Baseball by Sue Corbett

Grade 5

Wednesday, October 14 at Lunch/Recess  (THIS IS A CHANGE TO ACCOMMODATE GIRLS' VOLLEYBALL!)

 

Rump: The True Story of Rumplestiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff

Ungifted by Gordon Korman

Rain Reign by Ann Martin

 

Thursday, January 21, 2014 at 3:30 pm

 

The Fourteenth Goldfish by Jennifer Holm

Everything on a Waffle by Polly Horvath

Zane and the Hurricane by RodmanPhilbrick

 

Wednesday, March 23 at 3:30 pm  (Yes, a Wednesday -- we must work around other school events)

 

Island of Dr. Libris by Chris Grabenstein

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Running Out of Time by Margaret Petersen Haddix

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