Coaches:
Coaches can talk with their team during breaks.
Each team must have a coach present at the building and district battles.
Coaches are not allowed to sit with their team at any battle.
A coach cannot participate or assist their team with answering questions.
Battle books, notes or cell phones are not permitted.
Battle book titles, author names, and battle book cover images are not permitted on team costumes or team posters or as part of the team name.
Items Needed for the Battle(s):
Each team will need beach towels or blankets to sit on during the battles.
Whiteboards and markers will be provided for each battle team.
Battle Format:
Each battle question will be read aloud by the moderator and then projected on the screen.
Teams will have 45 seconds to quietly discuss the question and write their answer on the whiteboard. Answers must be recalled strictly from memory – no notes or books may be used.
When the time is up, the writing utensil must be put down and the whiteboard will be raised up to display the answer for the moderator to see.
Students must not erase their whiteboard until the moderator has given the signal to do so. If an answer has been erased and the moderator goes back to look at the whiteboard and there is no answer, the team will not receive any points.
The judges are the final authority on correct or incorrect answers. No challenges will be allowed. Any allegations of misconduct must be made by a coach to a battle staff committee member before the start of the next round to be taken to the head judge for a decision.
Battle Questions:
There will be two rounds of play.
The Battle will include questions from each book.
Each round may consist of any of the following types of questions:
a direct quote from a character in the book
a question or statement about something that happens in the book
a passage taken directly from the book
a question about something from an illustration or picture
a question from an author's note, glossary, timeline, etc.
a question about a title and/or author
a question from anything inside a book, from the front cover to the back cover
Sample Questions for Authors & Titles:
In the book Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, What did Sheila and her friends make at their slumber party? Answer: Slam Book
In what book is there a character called “The Invisible Being”? Answer: Title: The Rough-Face Girl or Rough-Face Girl
Who is the author of The Mighty Miss Malone? Answer: Christopher Paul Curtis
Scoring:
The correct answer will be read aloud and presented on the screen for all to see.
All scores will be based on written answers only.
Spelling will not count against a team unless the moderator or judges are unable to determine the answer with one exception. The title of the book and/or the author name must be spelled correctly. BOTH the FIRST AND LAST NAMES of the author(s) will need to be given in order to be considered correct.
Please note that the words “A” “An” and “The” at the beginning of a title do not count and can be left out when writing the answer.
The points granted for each question will be read aloud as the moderator checks each team's whiteboard.
Each correct answer will be given 1 point.