Battle of the Books Prepartion

Tips for Coaches

1. Read, read, read! There’s no substitute for knowing each book thoroughly.

2. Plan a team reading strategy
Basic – make sure every book has been read by at least 1 student
Better – have every book read by 2 students
Even better – have every book read by all students
Outstanding – after all books have been read by all students, assign 4-5 books to each student to re-read and review.

3. Play games like “Concentration” with the titles and authors. The complete
answer requires correct pronunciation of both of these.

4. Continue having your weekly meeting times.

5. Build team spirit. Choose a team name. Create a banner or team logo.

6. Build teamwork attitudes and skills
Good sportsmanship and best efforts count for everything!

7. Practice saying the titles and authors correctly.

8. Practice answering the sample questions. Questions often are about very small story or illustration details.

9. Practice the competition format.

10. Choose a spokesperson for each Battle. Only the spokesperson may answer
questions during the actual BOB.




COMPETITION SCHEDULE
There will be two rounds of competition:
Round 1 – University school-wide Battle
Round 2 – Battle with other schools.

All teams will participate in Round 1. The two teams with the highest scores in their grade levels will compete in Round 2.

The schedule for each round is as follows:
ROUND 1
April 5th: 6th Grade
April 7th: 5th Grade
April 12th: 4th Grade
April 14th: 3rd Grade

ROUND 2
April 21st: 6th Grade District Battle @ University
April 26th: 3rd/4th Grade District Battle @ McAuliffe
April 28th: 5th Grade District Battle @ McAuliffe

COMPETITION PROTOCOL
• It is very important that you emphasize to your team members that the goal of this event is to read books, and to challenge themselves in the competitions to work together to do their best.
• It is also very important that all interactions between teams be positive and encouraging. We do not want anyone to feel defeated by their final score. We may designate the teams with the highest scores as winners, but there will be no losers. The challenge is to do their best, not to “beat” each other. Please make sure your team is ready to participate with this attitude.
• Any negative or unsportsmanlike behavior will be given one warning per team. A second incidence on the part of any team member will excuse the entire team from further competition.

Competition Guidelines
• Each round will consist of at least 2 battles for each team. There may be 2 or 3 teams competing in a battle. Total scores will be used to determine rankings or advancement to Round 2.
• Each battle will consist of 10 questions for each team. Each question is unique. Questions that are missed by one team are not repeated for the opposing team(s).
• The answer for each question consists of the title and the author of the correct book. The title and author must be stated completely and pronounced correctly to earn points.
• A total of 8 points are possible for each question. The correct title statement earns 5 points. The correct author statement earns 3 points. Otherwise, no partial points are given. For each question, a team may earn 8 points, 5 points, 3 points, or 0 points.
• For each battle, a team consists of 4 members.
• No help is allowed during the competition from coaches or anyone else.
• For each battle, each team designates one member as their spokesperson for that battle. The spokesperson is the only team member who states the team’s answers to the judge. The designated spokesperson can change from battle to battle.
• In the event that a battle finishes with both teams having the same score, there will be a play-off.

Questions & Answers
• The judge asks each team 10 questions in turn. While one team is answering a question, the other team(s) must wait silently.
• Each team has 30 seconds after the question has been asked, to discuss the question with each other and determine their answer. They will be told when 10 seconds remain in their time.
• A team’s spokesperson may ask for a question to be repeated once, but doing so does not stop the 30-second clock.
• No books, lists, paper, or writing tools are allowed during competition.
• A bell will be sounded at 30 seconds. After the bell, no more discussion is allowed. The designated spokesperson states the team’s answer, including the title and author.
• The judge will state the correct answer.
• If a team disagrees with the judge, they immediately call for a challenge. The team will be given a copy of the book to which their answer referred and 2 minutes to find the exact page and passage in the book that proves their answer. The spokesperson will briefly explain to the judge the basis and proof for their challenge. The judge’s decision is final.
• Unnecessary challenges are discouraged, and a series of unfounded challenges will penalize a team.

Good luck and have fun!