{photos by Emily Ferrarini}
You’ve probably heard about Battle of the Books, but maybe you aren’t sure exactly what it is, why SLOCA is participating, or whether your child would like to be a part of it? Today, SLOCA librarian Emily Ferrarini has more to share with us about this fun reading opportunity:
I am so thrilled that SLOCA will be taking part in America’s Battle of the Books this year! This is such an awesome program for students, and I believe it is a natural fit for our community of readers. Battle of the Books celebrates reading, builds relationships, and gives students a taste for friendly, positive competition. From the America’s Battle of the Books website:
Our aim is to support students in their love and discovery of reading by introducing them to quality literature, to offer books that build upon historical values and dignity of life, and to develop friendships between students based upon socialization, competition, and mutual respect.
Can you imagine a group of kids better suited for this program? This is an opportunity for our amazing, bookish SLOCA community to have fun together, and also to spread our enthusiasm and love for great books throughout our wider SLO community.
Battle of the Books is a national reading incentive program for students in 4th through 6th grades. Students who choose to participate spend the whole school year reading as many books as they can from an official Battle of the Books list, and then come together in the spring to demonstrate their knowledge of the books they have read. Our school will begin by hosting a small battle for our own 4th – 6th grade students. Top teams will have the opportunity to go on a field trip up to Atascadero to participate in a competition against other 4th – 6th graders in our county!
The battle itself is a friendly, fun competition, and gives children a chance to celebrate reading with their friends, and to show what they know. The competition is family feud style, with students broken into teams that will compete against each other. The judge (usually a parent volunteer) will ask teams a question that begins with the phrase, “In which book…” and students will buzz in to answer with the title of the book. An extra point is given to teams able to name the author. The questions are never overly tricky, and students who have read the books well should have no problem coming up with the answers.
For students hesitant to take part in a cutthroat competition, don’t worry! Think of it as a group game; at no point will one student be expected to know all the answers or be in the spotlight. Questions are asked to the team, not the individual. However, students who have pushed themselves to read as many books as possible will be the most desirable members of a team. And remember, the list is long (35 books) but so is the school year. You have several months to read, read, read. By reading about one book a week, a student will be able to cover almost the entire list! In order to compete at the battle, students must have read at least 15 books from the list. Any student that is able to read all 35 books will get an automatic ticket to the big battle in Atascadero, regardless of whether their team wins at the SLOCA battle.
The official list has been carefully selected to cover a wide variety of interests and reading abilities. Titles range from the simple – think Dinosaurs Before Dark – to the hefty, such as The Secret Garden or The Black Stallion. The list has been designed to encourage even the most reluctant readers to find a title that interests them and gives them a feeling of success. For avid readers, reading as many books from the list as they can gives them a chance to shine. All students will have the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone a bit, and perhaps read about a topic or from a genre that typically isn’t their favorite. The list contains historical fiction, books about sports, books about animals, sad books, mysteries, silly books, classics, and even a picture book or two. We have at least one copy of every book in the school library, and books are also for sale in the school store. The books are paperbacks, and average about $7.
If your child is interested in taking part, they simply need to begin reading. Print out the list (links below) and put it on the fridge. Encourage your students to challenge themselves to read as many books as they can. You may read aloud to your child (yes, that counts!) or listen to an audiobook together (that counts too!) Watching a film adaptation is a fun way to celebrate having finished a book, but it is no substitute for reading the book.
Battle of the Books meetings are being held after school in the library on Wednesday afternoons for Track A, and Tuesday afternoons for Track B. We only meet every other week, from 2:45 – 3:30. The meetings are not mandatory, but they are a lot of fun! During meetings, we will talk about what we’ve been reading, encourage one another to try different books from the list, and take part in various fun activities to study for the battle at the end of the year. Even if your child can't make it to the meetings, we would love to get their name on our sticker chart in the library, so we can have a visual representation of who is reading what. As it gets closer to competition time, I will ask students to make a commitment to attend meetings. We may decide to add more meetings to the schedule, in order to accommodate the most number of students in our battle. We have yet to put our battle on the schedule, and the Atascadero big battle date has yet to be announced, but make sure you check your weekly update and stay tuned for more information yet to come.
One last note about Battle of the Books. The battle organization has put together a list of recommended titles for third graders. This list is the same each year, and every book on the list is wonderful – you may recognize a few from SLOCA’s Must Reads list! I encourage all 3rd graders to read from the 3rd grade list. Any student who is able to conquer all 14 books on the list will be awarded a special, secret prize from the librarian, and will be all the more prepared to compete in the battle next year as a 4th grader! The 3rd graders do not need to attend meetings, and they will not be able to participate in the competition itself. Again, all books on the list are available in both the library and the school store.
Thank you, Emily! Parents, here are links to the Battle of the Books lists:
Emily could also use a few parent volunteers to help get the battle up and running. We will need volunteers to help run the battle later in the year, but currently, there is a need for someone willing to help laminate some bookmarks, and someone able to help make study booklets. Please email Emily if you can help with any of these easy jobs!
