Union Middle School Library

Overview

The Union Middle School Battle of the Books program is a literary competition available to all UMS students and teachers. Teams are made up of four readers and one teacher who compete by answering questions about the selected books on the Battle of the Books list. The list is made available in the fall and the competition is held in the spring. The winning student team wins the bragging rights, winners’ crowns, and a summer reading book.

Objectives

• Promote leisure reading

• Promote a variety of interests in literature

• Promote goal-setting, teamwork, and cooperation

Book Selection

Books are selected based on one or more of the following criteria:

• Missouri Truman Award nominees

• Popular authors

• Favorable reviews from educational publications such as: Amazon Teacher Pick, Common Sense Media, Horn Book, School Library Journal, Kirkus Review, etc.

• Past award winning titles

• Recommendations from teachers, students, and other community stakeholders

Book Availability

Books are available in the UMS Library Media Center. Each title has at least four copies, and they are separated into their own section in the library. Only students who are committed to a Battle of the Books team are allowed to check out the books, and the books are not available for renewal.

Team Selection

Students may choose any combination of up to four players from grades 6-8 and one teacher. Teams will sign up in the Battle of the Books Google Classroom.

Competition Time and Location 

The competition will be held in the UMS Library Media Center during the school day on a designated date in the spring.

The Officials

The librarian will serve as the main and final judge. Other officials may include timekeeper, scorekeeper, spokesperson, or any other duty deemed necessary.

Contesting a Ruling

If a team believes there is a legitimate concern about a ruling, they may raise the issue as long as the next question has not been asked. The officials may confer and either revise the ruling or let the original ruling stand. The librarian’s decision is final.

Competition Play

Materials

Each team will be given two whiteboards, markers, and erasers

Question Types

Each of the 15 books will have 5-7 questions that can be answered with the title of the book. These questions will be asked in the first two rounds of the competition. The third round will have short answer questions.

How to Play

Teams will write the answers on the whiteboards within the 30 second time limit. When time is called, teams will flip over their whiteboards to reveal the answers. 

Point Values

Correct answers will be given one point. In the first two rounds, teams will have the opportunity to receive two points per question by identifying the title of the book and the author. Everything must be spelled correctly in order to receive a point. Title and author spellings will be taken from the Official Book List.

Rounds one and two consist of 30 questions total for a possible 60 points total. Round three has a total of 15 questions for a total of 15 points. 

Winning the Game

The winner will be the team with the most points. In the case of a tie, there will be a three question round to determine the winner.

Prizes

Each student on the winning team will win a crown and the option to order a school appropriate book for summer reading.

Helpful Hints

• Consider making notecards for each book with the title, author, main characters, main plot points, and any other obvious pieces of information from the book

• Encourage all team members to memorize the spelling of all titles and authors

• Divide the books among the team fairly - keep in mind the length of the books