Questions


 * Questions Answered Here **

Feel free to post any questions you have about Battle of the Books. We will do our best to answer them in a timely fashion. If you see a question for which you have an answer or suggestion, feel free to add your own advice. This is a collaborative effort. Together we can ensure that all Battle of the Books participants have a positive experience. (Click on the "edit" button above to begin. Then click the "save" button when you're finished.)


 * 1. How many books should each student read? **

We expect each participant to read at least 10-12 books. Some students will choose to read all 40 books and those students will receive a commemorative pin to celebrate their accomplishment and are eligible to compete in the 40 Book Challenge. Battle of the Books is intended to be rigorous and challenging for our identified gifted readers. It takes a great deal of motivation and task committment.

Questions will revolve around main ideas and events of the books, characters and settings. Here are a couple of examples: - In Defiance, which disease did the main character have? -In The Magician's Elephant, to whom did the red tent belong?
 * 2. Do you have any examples of the types of questions they ask the kids at the competition? **

The author/title flashcards will be added on the Resources Page.
 * 3. Will you be posting author/title flash cards on the wiki at some point? Thanks. **

The team as a whole has to have read all 40 books but no single student has to read all of the books. The team members work together to answer the questions at the competition. The first round of the regional competition consists of 40 short answer questions, one for each of the books on the list. Teams get three points for each correct answer and a bonus point for knowing the book's author for a total of five points possible for each question. The two teams with the highest scores at the end of that round go head-to-head in an oral round to determine the regional champion. Dividing the books among the participants is a great way to ensure that each of the books gets read by someone on the team. Some teams have divided the list in such a way that each book is read by at least two team members. This alleviates the pressure on individuals to be the sole person responsible for a book. However, each team member is then responsible for reading twice as many books. If you have students who are particularly voracious readers, let them read as many books as they can - just be sure they're using fact trackers to help remember the details.
 * 4. Can someone give me an idea of the overall process and competition day itself? I assume all the team members aren't required to know about all books...that the kids will confer as a group and then answer the question? I have split the books up and assigned a handful to each. Is this the best way to go about it? I am new to this so THANKS for the info!! **

At the building level, the team members need to be reading, reading, reading. In some schools, books are assigned, other the kids choose which books they read. The goal is for each member to read at least 10-12 books by competition time, but many of the readers choose to read more than that. For the competition, the students need to know the books they've read and the authors' names. There will be one question about each of the books for a total of 40 questions. At the building level, those will be multiple choice. Competition question are "right there" type questions: who, what, where, when, how, why. There are fact trackers available under the Resources tab that the students can use to keep track of the details in their books. There are also practice questions available there that will give you an idea of the types of questions asked. However, these are not the actual competition questions.
 * 5. I am also very new to this.. and am fearful my team will not do so well.. can someone help me figure out what is going to happen at the building level? We have four teams in our building I think... what do the kids need to know? I have had a lot of missed meetings from several group members and am just now getting two of my 6 started... please help!!!!! TIA! **

If you have four teams in your building, each team will take the test and the team with the highest score will move on to the regional competition to represent your school. Teams should have six members plus two alternates. Building competitions have to completed the week of February 27th.