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Battle of the Books
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What is Battle of the Books?
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| Battle of the Books is an Alaskan reading motivational and comprehension program sponsored by the Alaska Association of School Librarians. The goals of the program are to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, to broaden reading interests, increase reading comprehension and promote academic excellence. Lists of books are chosen for grades three and four, grades five and six, grades seven and eight, and high school. Students read the books, discuss them, quiz each other on the contents, and then compete in teams of at least three members to correctly answer questions based on the books in a "quiz show" format. The questions used all begin with, "In which book ...,' so that the answer will always be the title and author. Teams compete at the school, district and state levels of competition. Recently the three primary grades were added with booklists and questions compiled for each grade level: K, one, and two. New lists of recommended titles for each level are compiled each year by a committee of Alaskan librarians and teachers based on the Criteria for Book Selection. An attempt is made to vary the titles chosen as to genre and difficulty, so that readers may encounter a broad range of books. At the annual AkLA Conference, the official booklist for state competitionfor the following year is set, so that planning to obtain the titles can begin. The original idea for Battle of the Books came from a radio program sponsored by the Chicago Public Library in the early 1940's. Joanne Kelly, a student participant in the radio show, became a school librarian in Urbana, Illinois. While she was there, she reconstructed the radio show from memory for use in her library. Many years later another Chicago area school librarian, Roslyn Goodman, found her way to Kodiak, Alaska, bringing the Battle of the Books idea with her. She used it in Kodiak in the 1981-1982 school year and word of the program spread. In 1982-1983, Hermon Hutchens School in Valdez received a Merit Award from the Department of Education for their Battle of the Books program and Battle of the Books soon spread to Anchorage, Fairbanks, Valdez, Tok and Northway. Winning teams from Northway and Tok participated in an interschool audio-conference Battle. Thanks to Linda Barrett's (Anchorage School District) suggestion to hold inter-school and inter-district Battles via audio-conference equipment and Pat Thurman's (Fairbanks North Star Borough S.D.) enthusiasm and organizational efforts to promote a statewide program, librarians from Dillingham, Kodiak, Valdez, Tok and Fairbanks met via audio-conference on May 19, 1983 to make plans for Alaska's first statewide audio-conference competition. Fourteen school districts around Alaska participated in the program in April 1984. By 1984-1985, twenty-six districts were involved in the program. In 1988-89 there were fifty-one Alaskan districts participating and several out-of-state districts requested Battle of the Books packets. Although the number of participating districts varies from year to year, overall interest in this exciting program remains high. |
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Why Participate in Battle of the Books?
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| Battle of the Books gives participating students a great opportunity to read genres of literature that they might not otherwise be inclined to read. It also offeres an forum for academic competition and teamwork. | |
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Who is Eligible?
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| ALL Riverbend students in grades three, four, and five are eligible to participate in this program. Students who have read all (or most) of the fifteen selected books for their grade level may participate in the The Riverbend Team-Qualifying Battle. Students who participate in Riverbend Extended Learning are required to participate unless their Student Learning Plan states otherwise.
Students in kindergarten, grades one and two participate in classroom level Battle of the Books during their regular library time. |
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How do I Participate?
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| Just let your classroom teacher and Mrs. Kelley, Riverbend's librarian, know that you are reading the books and would like to compete. Individuals compete to make the Riverbend teams. Three participants and an alternate form each of the 3-4 team and fifth grade team. | |
| Where Can I Find Battle of the Books Books? | |
| The Riverbend Library has multiple copies of each title. The Juneau City Library and local bookstores also carry Battle of the Books books. Plan Ahead! Don't save all your reading for the end; not all books may be available at once. | |
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What is the Most Important Date I Need to Remember?
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| The Riverbend Battle of the Books will be held sometime in January of each year. The District Battle of the Books is traditionally held on the first Saturday in February.
Battle of the Books: Interested students should be busy reading the fifteen books selected for this year’s Battle of the Book. Individual competition to make the three member, fifth grade team will take place on Friday, January 18th, at 1:45 PM in the Riverbend Library. A similar competition to qualify for the third/fourth grade team will take place exactly one week later, Friday, January 25th, at 1:45 PM in the Riverbend Library. Both Riverbend teams will compete in the Juneau School District Battle of the Books, tentatively scheduled for Saturday morning, February 9th at Dzantik’I Heeni. Juneau’s top fifth or sixth grade team will advance to the state championship (via teleconference) on Wednesday, February 20th, and the top third/fourth grade Juneau team will compete the following day, Thursday, February 21st. Battle books are available at all libraries. Mrs. Kelley will offer study groups prior to the competitions. |
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Where Can I Get More Information About Battle of the Books?
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| Battle of the Books Home Page | http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/bbhome.html |
| Fifth & Sixth Grade Battle Books Internet Sites | http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/56internet.htm |
| Third & Fourth Grade Battle Books Internet Sites | http://www.akla.org/akasl/bb/34internet.htm |
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Riverbend's Battle of the Books Teams
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| Year | Third & Fourth Grade | Fifth Grade |
| 1998-1999 | Kael W. ~ Dana S. ~ Spenser J.
Israel K. (Alternate) |
Shane G. ~ Paul P. ~ Craig R.
Donovan B. (Alternate) |
| 1999-2000 | Dana S. ~ Aaron B. ~ Luke G.
Hope A. (Alternate) |
Kael W. ~ J.J. C. ~ Ryan W.
Moriah W. (Alternate) |
| 2000-2001 | Luke G. ~ Aaron B. ~ Ian W.
Kohu M. (Alternate) |
Hope A. ~ Dana S. ~ Phillip H.
Wayne S. (Alternate) |
| 2001-2002 | Cody G. ~ Cole P. ~ Erin B.
Maya R. (Alternate) |
Luke G. ~ Aaron B. ~ Jurgen R.
Kohu M. (Alternate) |
| 2002-2003 | Cole P. ~ Anthony B. ~ Liam G.
Erin B. (Alternate) |
Ian W. ~ Rebekah P. ~ Caitlin G.
Cody G. (Alternate) |
| 2003-2004 | Kayleigh G. ~ Zach L. ~ Haila S.
Liam G. (Alternate) |
Erin B. ~ Kenny G. ~ Zander H.
Cole P. (Alternate) |
| 2004-2005 | Jenny S. ~ Katie M. ~ Elyssa K. | Liam G. ~ Zach L. ~ Dylan M. |
| 2005-2006 | Jessica S. ~ Nika T. ~ Darian P.
Tevita M. (Alternate) |
Kayleigh G. ~ Jacob S. ~ Michaela S.
Taylee E. (Alternate) |
| 2006-2007 | Erica M. ~ Jamie B. ~ Cameron M.
Clarita V. (Alternate) |
Dennis B. ~ Nika T. ~ Jodi M.
Kyle S. (Alternate) |
| 2006-2007 | Anahita M. ~ Paris R. ~ Erica M.
Cameron M. (Alternate) |
Jamie B. ~ Adrienne S. ~ Melissa B.
Catalina I. (Alternate) |
| 2007-2008 | Rinehart-Cameron Dunker- Anahita, Paris, Brickie, Jerrett Hakari- Laura, Erica, Erika |
Jamie Barnhill Adrienne Sypeck Melissa Bowhay Catalina Iputi, alternate |
| 2008-2009 | There will be no Battle competition this morning. Sorry for the late notice. We have a small but capable fifth grade team already set. Shelby and Hayley in Parmentier's class | |
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Sheryl Hall Wittig ~ Page last updated on
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