SYLLABUS/ PACING GUIDES

Getting Started…

 1. What are “Book Battles”? Book Battle programs are competitions similar to jeopardy or quiz games, but questions come from a controlled list of books that participants read in preparation for the matches. Book Battle programs are a great way to get students to read. TCMS will battle each middle school in the county at the annual competition in February.

 2. How does it work? Teams will be made up of students from grades 6-8. Team members can be from the same class or mixed classes. Our goal is to have at least 12 students on our team. Teams cannot compete with less than 6 students.  

3. Who makes sure the team members are reading? Parents and the TCMS Staff “coach” (Mrs. Lemon), but it is ultimately up to the kids to make sure that they read the books on the list.

4. When does the “Middle School Battle of the Books” start? In general, promotion begins in the fall, is intensified during the winter, and the battles take place in February. 

5. How are books selected for the book list? Books are chosen by the North Carolina School Library Media Association. Considerations when selecting titles for the list include reading level, popularity, awards received, cross gender interest, promotion of excellent titles that may not be well known, titles that frequently appear on Accelerated Reader or other reading lists, and availability of in-print or paperback copies. 

6. Will there be enough copies of the titles to go around? The TCMS Library has at least one copy of each title available for checkout. Students will rotate books so that everyone has a chance to read each book.  Books are also available at the local public library and in the SORA app.

7. How are the actual Book Battles structured? • On match day there will be a judge, score keeper, time keeper, and a person to read the questions. (This person may be the same as the judge). • Each match lasts approximately 15 minutes and contains 12 questions. • Team order in the tournament will be randomly selected. • Each team has 20 seconds per question. • Questions are all in the same format - In what book…? or In which book…? • Answers are always in the form of the title and author of the book. A maximum of 3 points per question is possible (2 for title & 1 “bonus” for author). • If an answer or only part of an answer (i.e. title only or author only) cannot be furnished by a team, the other team may answer and receive partial points for that question. • A running score is not necessary, though the time-keeper may tell teams the score halfway through the match. 

8. What are this year’s MBOB books? There are 20 titles – start reading!

Ashlords by Scott Reintgen

The Best at It by Maulik Pancholy

Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

Bloom by Kenneth Oppel

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Freewater by Amina Luqman-Dawson

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

A Good Kind of Trouble by Lisa Moore Ramee

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

I Will Always Write Back by Caitlin Alifrenka & Martin Ganda

The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Mexikid by Pedro Martin

Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat