Get answers to some frequently asked questions about Battle of the Books.
What is Battle of the Books?
Battle of the Books is a voluntary quiz bowl style competition for 4th and 5th graders at Greenwood Elementary.
The mission of Greenwood's Battle of the Books is to foster a love of reading by encouraging students to read challenging, high quality literature written by a variety of authors in multiple genres. It also encourages teamwork and adds some excitement to reading comprehension practice in a hope that the children will learn not only to enjoy reading but also how to read with purpose.
The books are different each year and the list is usually published in the Spring the year before so students can enjoy the books listed over the summer break if they'd like to get started. Each book is selected with reading level and maturity in mind.
How Does My Student Get Involved?
In September of each year, 4th Graders and 5th Graders are invited to create teams of five or six students to participate. Look for information in the Greenwood Grizzly to sign up your student/team.
If your student does not have a team, or has a team of less than five or six students, please email Ali Palladino at apalladino@cherrycreekschools.org and she can help your student find a team or combine teams so each group has enough students to participate. Everyone is invited and she will make sure every student who wants to participate gets to do so!
What Do Parents/Caregivers Need to Do for Battle of the Books?
Each team needs at least one or two volunteers to meet with the team at the school. Volunteers can rotate who comes to the meetings with the students, and each team's caregivers can work together to coordinate that effort.
If you are a team volunteer, please make sure to fill out the District's online volunteer form if you have not already done so for this school year.
When Do Battle of the Books Teams Meet?
Battle of the Books teams usually start meeting the first week of October and do so through the competition in January.
Meeting times generally work best if students meet over their lunchtime so that everyone can participate and afterschool activities do not get in the way. This year, 4th Grade lunch is from 12:40-1:00 pm and 5th Grade lunch is from 1:10-1:30 pm. Teams can meet up to once a week and do not have to meet on the same day each week, nor do they have to meet every week if the team/volunteers decide that it is not necessary. The program is meant to be flexible and take place during school hours so that everyone can easily attend.
Does My Student Have to Read Every Book?
No. But it is important that each book have multiple members from the team read it to give the team a better chance of knowing the answers to the questions in the final competition. And overall the goal is to get students to read books that they may not otherwise pick out on their own. But not every student has to read every book on the list. Of course, the more students on the team that read the books, the bigger advantage that team will have at the final Battle of the Books competition!
When is the Battle of the Books Competition?
A Greenwood Elementary Battle of the Books Competition is held in January of each year where the 4th grade students will compete against one another first and then the fifth grade students will compete against one another in a separate round. The team that wins their respective grade competition will then have an opportunity to compete against the other grade's winning team in a final 4th vs. 5th grade showdown, the winner of which will continue on to the District-wide competition.
What Is the Book List This Year and Where Can I Find the Books on the List?
Click on the button below for this year's Battle of the Books List with Amazon links for each book. The school library also has all of these books available for your students to check out, as does the Arapahoe Library. Teams often work together to purchase/check out books and share them among team members. Playaways are available to check out as well. If your student would like one, please email Melanie Rottler at mrottler3@cherrycreekschools.org.
