Battle of the Books
Battle of the Books Basics
Battle of the Books is a reading incentive program in which teams of students read books, write questions, and later answer questions about the books they have read. Students should be working on building their reading comprehension as they read. They will later compete as teams, first in their classroom and then among other teams from their grade level, to see who can recall the most about the books they read.Why have Battle of the Books? · Promotion of literature and libraries · Competition with focus on academics · Team Building · Recognition of importance of reading · FUN! Responsibilities: Teachers · Assign students to 4 multi-ability teams per classroom · Share books with students (you may want to keep track of who has what book using the forms provided) · Make sure students turn in their questions as they finish reading a book · Make sure each student reads at least two books · Remind students regularly of their responsibilities · Enjoy your students enthusiasm about the books Students · Read at least two of the books for their grade level · Enjoy the books they read · Write 5 questions after reading each book (form provided) that take the following format “In which book…..” · Learn the Title and Author (first name and last name) of each book · Take care of the books and return them promptly · Work cooperatively with their teammates · Choose a team spokesperson/captain Library Media Specialist · Provide books to the teachers · Organize and order materials · Meet with teachers and students to answer questions · Read books · Prepare questions · Organize and schedule the tournaments · Conduct tournaments · Supervise school team at district comptetion |
3rd Grade Battle of the Books Titles - 2017-2018
Click here to submit your completed questions form after reading each book. Frindle by Andrew Clements He really just likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo When Michael is washed up on an island in the Pacific after falling from his parent's yacht, the Peggy Sue, he struggles to survive on his own. But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive Million Dollar Shot by Dan Gutman When Eddie Ball finds out about the Finkles contest-a chance to win a million dollars just by sinking a foul shot at the NBA finals-he realizes it could be the end of his family's troubles but someone is trying to sabotage his million dollar shot. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLaclan This Newbery Medal–winning book is the first of five books in Patricia MacLachlan's chapter book series about the Witting family. Set in the late nineteenth century and told from young Anna's point of view, Sarah, Plain and Tall tells the story of how Sarah Elisabeth Wheaton comes from Maine to the prairie to answer Papa's advertisement for a wife and mother. The Battle of Gettysburg, 1853 by Lauren Tarshis It's 1863, and Thomas and his little sister, Birdie, have fled the farm where they were born and raised as slaves. Following the North Star, looking for freedom, they soon cross paths with a Union soldier. Everything changes: Corporal Henry Green brings Thomas and Birdie back to his regiment, and suddenly it feels like they've found a new home World According to Humphrey by Betty Birney You can learn a lot about life by observing another species. That’s what Humphrey was told when he was first brought to Room 26. And boy, is it true! In addition to his classroom escapades, each weekend this amazing hamster gets to sleep over with a different student, like Lower-Your-Voice-A.J. and Speak-Up-Sayeh. Snot Stew by Bill Wallace Two kittens adopted by two children must learn the ways of humans. They hear the children arguing over possessions ("Is not!. . .Is too!) and think they are playing a game called "Snot Stew." When the kittens begin to play the game, however, they find that it can lead to hurt feelings, animosity, and danger. Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff During a school trip to Ellis Island, Dominick Avaro, a ten-year-old foster child, travels back in time to 1908 Italy and accompanies two young emigrants to America. Ranger in Time: Long Road to Freedom by Kate Messner Ranger is a time-traveling golden retriever with search-and-rescue training. In this adventure, he goes to a Maryland plantation during the days of American slavery, where he meets a young girl named Sarah. Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns by Mary Quattlebaum When Jackson gets a garden for his 10th birthday, he comes up with a moneymaking scheme for it. He even cuts his friends in on the action. But before long, Jackson finds out that friends and business don't always mix. When the neighborhood bully calls him "Bouquet Jones," Jackson is ready to give up. Maybe gardens don't belong in cities after all.... ________________________________________________________________________________________ 4th Grade Battle of the Books Titles - 2017-2018 Click here to submit your completed questions form after reading each book. Finding Serendipity by Angelica Banks (DRA 40) When Tuesday McGillycuddy and her beloved dog Baxterr discover that Tuesday's mother--the famous author Serendipity Smith--has gone missing, they set out on a magical adventure. In their quest to find Serendipity, they discover the mysterious and unpredictable place that stories come from. Chocolate Touch by Patrick Catling (DRA 30) A boy acquires a magical gift that turns everything his lips touch into chocolate. Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (DRA 38) Little Willie hopes to pay the back taxes on his grandfather's farm with the purse from a dog sled race he enters. Honus and Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman (DRA 40) Joey, who loves baseball but is not very good at it, finds a valuable 1909 Honus Wagner card and travels back in time to meet Honus. Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins (DRA 40) Six stories relate the adventures of three best friends, Lumphy, a stuffed buffalo, Sting Ray, a stuffed stingray, and Plastic, a toy who happens to be in the midst of an identity crisis. Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret (DRA 50) A clever cat's heroism helps two twelve-year-old boys become friends after their families, one of which is in a witness protection program, move to neighboring houses in Hilltop, Washington. Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O’Connor (DRA 40) In Fayette, South Carolina, the highlight of Popeye's summer is learning vocabulary words with his grandmother until a motor home gets stuck nearby and Elvis, the oldest boy living inside, joins Popeye in finding the source of strange boats floating down the creek. Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff (DRA 50) Tells the tale of Rumpelstiltskin's childhood and youth, explaining why his name is so important, how he is able to spin straw into gold, and why a first-born child is his reward for helping the miller's daughter-turned-queen. Fourth Grade Rats by Jerry Spinelli (DRA 40) Suds learns that his best friend is wrong. You don't have to be a tough guy, a "rat," to be a grown up fourth grader. I Survived the Eruption of Mount Saint Helens by Lauren Tarshis (DRA 40) On May 18, 1980, eleven-year-old Jessie Marlowe and her best friends, Eddie and Sam, are in a forest near Mount St. Helens when the months of wondering whether the volcano will erupt are finally answered--all three are badly burned, but it is up to Jessie to protect the boys as best she can and hope that somebody comes to rescue them. ________________________________________________________________________________________ 5th Grade Battle of the Books Titles - 2017-2018 Click here to submit your completed questions form after reading each book. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate (DRA 40) A story about a homeless boy and his imaginary friend that proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, whether real or imaginary. The Fairy-Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley (DRA 50) Orphans Sabrina and Daphne Grimm are sent to live with an eccentric grandmother that they have always believed to be dead. Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963: A Novel by Christopher Paul Curtis (DRA 50) The ordinary interactions and everyday routines of the Watsons, an African-American family living in Flint, Michigan, are drastically changed after they go to visit Grandma in Alabama in the summer of 1963. Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper (DRA 40) Considered by many to be mentally retarded, a brilliant, impatient fifth-grader with cerebral palsy discovers a technological device that will allow her to speak for the first time. City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (DRA 50) In the city of Ember, twelve-year-old Lina trades jobs on Assignment Day to be a Messenger to run to new places in her decaying but beloved city, perhaps even to glimpse Unknown Regions. Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix (DRA 50) In a future where the Population Police enforce the law limiting a family to only two children, Luke has lived all his twelve years in isolation and fear on his family's farm, until another "third" convinces him that the government is wrong. Chasing the Falconers by Gordon Korman (DRA 40) Aiden and Meg Falconer must escape from a juvenile detention center in order to prove their parents innocent of charges which would put them in jail for life. Crash by Jerry Spinelli (DRA 50) Seventh-grader John "Crash" Coogan has always been comfortable with his tough, aggressive behavior, until his relationship with an unusual Quaker boy and his grandfather's stroke make him consider the meaning of friendship and the importance of family. First Light by Rebecca Stead (DRA 60) When twelve-year-old Peter and his family arrive in Greenland for his father's research, he stumbles upon a secret his mother has been hiding from him all his life, and begins an adventure he never imagines possible. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (DRA 60) As her mother prepares to be a contestant on the 1980s television game show, "The $20,000 Pyramid," a twelve-year-old New York City girl tries to make sense of a series of mysterious notes received from an anonymous source that seems to defy the laws of time and space. |