How is Battle of the Books (BOB) run?
Mini tournaments are run within each school as a whole school event. First and second place winners of the series go to the district battle.
What is the best way to get started if it is your first year as a school?
There books have already been picked. Go HERE to get all your resources.
Find out if your library has the books you need.
Introduce BOB to students using the presentation on the link.
Give registration form (step 2) to students who are interested.
Have students return form with the entire team and say their pledge.
Give them the book sign up sheet. (step 3)
Return book sign up sheet and then let them sign out their starting book.
How do I make this applicable to a single classroom?
Classrooms can be divided into teams of six. Run a tournament style competition, the winner goes to district battle.
How do I make this accessible to students in the school division?
Pitch the idea to your school or maybe even your grade team and then contact us to register your team.
How does “Kahoot” work?
Kahoot is a digital game platform where you can create authentic quizzes. Points are tallied by the correct answer and how long it takes to answer. Go HERE to understand more.
How do I implement leadership?
Older students can read to younger students. Team leader is responsible for paperwork, co-captain is responsible for encouraging other members of the team. One member could be responsible for character descriptions. One could be responsible for helping other members remember the book titles and authors. One could be responsible for designing a t-shirt design and the team could make t-shirts. The possibilities are endless for leadership implementation.
How to engage students with an array of literacy levels?
Your Learning Commons Facilitator can help you access physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks. Starting a book club for students to come twice a week where volunteer parents, older grades, teachers, or LC facilitators can read one of the harder books.
How is the structure?
The actual battle is set up like a tournament. Most of the work is done individually by the student and their team. There are other ways too, as long as students have read all the books before the battle.
How is it set up?
Mostly student driven. Adults can help by providing direction, forms, and books. Students do all the reading and preparing. Teachers can help by giving students a place to meet with their team.
How to facilitate this program?
Our main battle previous years was at head office in Airdrie and because of all the interest we needed to find a bigger facility for battles moving forward. A sponsor campaign can be implemented to help cover costs.
How to implement it with limited space?
Space is not an obstacle this year because the battles will be on Zoom and Kahoot as a digital event.
How to implement supervision challenges?
The teams meet on their own time. Supervision would only be a challenge on battle day.
What is the realistic time limit for teachers and staff?
Teachers and staff are not involved much during the reading process; it is really only the battle day, which is one day.
How do I engage staff?
Show your staff the link to all the resources and then let them decide. This is implemented because we want students to love to read and enjoy a good story. If it becomes stressful for anyone then we are defeating the purpose of why we created Battle of the Books. Reading should be Fun!!
How do I engage students?
Students really buy into the competition piece. Create a challenge using intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
How do I get buy-in from teachers?
Have one of the books be included as the novel study or literature circle pick within the classroom or Humanities picks.
How do I get the time for teachers to participate?
There is not much teacher participation except for battle day. Students who start in grade 3 get familiar with how it works and start to do really well as they approach their grade 6 year. Their confidence has developed because of their previous experiences.
How do I motivate our staff?
Show the resources. Be excited about reading.
What would it look like step-by-step for a school that is not in Rockyview and has never done it before?
Networking with other staff from other schools, maybe someone you taught with and just got transferred, your child’s teacher that you know from when they were going to school. Show you colleagues the resources and just start at your school and eventually it can be built bigger. Call the local paper. Invite parents on battle day to watch. Encourage students to read one of the titles with mom or dad at bedtime as an every night bedtime story. Invite your superintendent, invite principals from your neighbour school. Challenge a neighbour school to a friendly battle and give them all the resources.
How do I get books?
Search Rockyview’s catalogue and use inter library loan possibilities, ask your LC facilitator, go to the public library. Let your public library know about the battle and give them a list of the books. Your public library is usually very helpful in getting some extra resources for those titles.
What books have been successful?
See our WEBSITE for successful book pics.
Can you tell me about the books that have already been successful?
See our WEBSITE for previous titles.
How do I engage reluctant readers?
Read with them.