BATTLE OF THE BOOKS

Battle of the Books is a voluntary reading program for students in grades 5-8. The purpose is to encourage students to read books while having fun competing with their peers. A student participates by reading books from the list provided for that year's Battle of the Books. There are 10 books selected each year for competition.  The Battle is a full day tournament, in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book list. Students play several rounds against a different teams and points are totaled. The team with the most points at the end wins the battle. Interested students should sign up with Mrs. Easler or Mrs. Steen in the library.  Applications can be picked up by the circulation desk in the library.

Your coaches are Mrs. Easler (Media Specialist) & Mrs. Steen (Media Aide)

All students interested in participating in Battle of the Books this year will use our Google Classroom page as a reference.  As we get closer to Christmas, students who have not met the expectations as outlined below - WILL BE REMOVED.  Before Christmas break we will narrow our team to 10 or less students.  The FINAL team competing at the district level will only be 6 students.  Make sure if you want to represent the SJIS BOB team you are meeting all of the requirements!

REQUIREMENTS:

1. Students wishing to participate in Battle of the Books should pick up an interest form at the circulation desk. You must return the interest form to Mrs. Easler in the library. The interest form requires a parent signature.

2. You MUST read at least 8 of the 10 specific books by Christmas break. Titles can be found on this page.

3. There will be 3 Title / Author tests of varying difficulty given before Christmas break. You must make an 80 or above on EACH of these tests to move forward.

A. The first test will be MATCHING titles and authors.

B. The second test will list 5 authors and 5 titles. You will write in the appropriate author's name or book title that matches. Spelling is not graded!

C. You will complete an oral test with Mrs. Easler where she asks you who the author is for each of our books and you must respond correctly. She will also ask you to name all the titles when given the author's name.

4. Students must read ALL of the books before we leave for Christmas break. During this time it is just expected that you read for fun & enjoyment! The first part of the year is just familiarizing yourself with the books and reading them so that you have a general idea about the theme, characters, plot, settings, point of view and anything else you would like to discuss.

5. Mrs. Easler will have after school sessions at least once each month beginning September - December. Dates will be posted on the Google Classroom page so be on the lookout! You will need to complete the after school permission form to participate. You should aim to read 2-3 books each month to stay on pace. December will be a short month because of Christmas break, please keep this in mind. ALSO, Thanksgiving week is a perfect time to catch up if you find yourself falling behind.

6. Students making the SJIS BOB Team will earn a team shirt that must be worn to district competition. I will be asking for your size preference when we return to school in January. I hope that you are as excited about this opportunity as we are. Our past team set the bar high by winning 3rd in the District. We shared meals together and really bonded as a team. We expect nothing less this year. The District competition will take place at Horry Georgetown Technical College Burroughs & Chapin Auditorium on March 18, 2026.