Clubs and Events
Battle of the Books 2019-2020
What Is Battle of the Books?
Battle of the Books (BOTB) is a regional competition in which students work in teams of 3-4 people to read and study a set of 8-10 novels over the course of several months. There is a set of 10 books for students in 5th and 6th grades, and a separate set of 8 books for 7th and 8th grade students. In order to practice for the competitions, students meet every other week to answer "Jeopardy-style" trivia questions. Once students have mastered their set of 10 books, they then will participate in competitions to demonstrate their knowledge of the books, first at the building level, followed by finalists moving on to the regional levels. During the 2018-2019 season, our 5/6 team won 3rd place in the regional competition, and our 7/8 team won 1st place in the regional competition.
Time Commitment Required
For Students:
All student participants are asked to read and study all books for their grade band division. To stay on track, students should read one book approximately every two weeks beginning September 23rd. In addition to reading the books, all students are asked to attend team meetings approximately twice each month with their team members and coach. These meeting times are set collaboratively by the team members and their coach, but may take place during study halls, lunch/recess, or after school.
Representatives from each team should attend an after school (10th period) technical meeting approximately twice each month. For these meetings, teams can choose their representatives, who should be experts on the book being discussed. Representatives from the 5/6 division will typically will attend meetings on the first and third Monday of the month, and representatives from the 7/8 division mostly will have their meetings on the second and fourth Monday of the month. However, the actual meeting dates may not correspond exactly with this due to vacations and other days off. A list of the exact dates of the technical meetings can be found below.
In addition to these meetings, all students will participate in a building level competition in at the end of March/beginning of April, and the two winning teams (one from each grade band division) will advance to the regional finals at the end of April.
For Coaches:
Coaches are asked to lead a team of 3-4 students between the months of September and April. This involves the following:
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Have meetings to discuss each of the books read at your division (10 for the 5/6 division, and 8 for the 7/8 division). At meetings, coaches check in with students to ensure that they have read the books and facilitate discussion about the books. We ask that team meetings take place before technical
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When possible, attend the technical meetings led by Miss Regitano.
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Cheer on your team during the building battle.
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If possible, chaperone the field trip to the regional battles.
Getting Involved
In order to get involved in Battle of the Books, students can either form their own teams of 3-4 people, or they can be placed on a team by Ms. Regitano. To sign up, students must fill out the Google Form shown to the right before 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 20, 2019. Any students join at a later date should expect to read any books that they missed. Interested staff should contact Ms. Regitano via email at jregitano@chittenangoschools.org.
Field Trip to the Regional Competition
On April 17, 2020, the BOTB regional competition will be held with a location TBD. The 5/6 team and the 7/8 team that win the building competitions will compete in the regional competition.
Permission slips are due back to Ms. Regitano no later than Friday, April 3rd. Any permission slips handed in later than that date will not be accepted.
Field Trip to the Sullivan Free Library
One of the perks of being a part of the Battle of the Books is that participants are able to to go to the Sullivan Free Library for a field trip and exclusive "behind the scenes" look at how the library operates. This field trip will take place on Friday, December 6, 2019. See more info in the letter linked below.
Reminders:
(1) If you do not already own a public library card, please be sure to have your parents/guardians fill out the application form given to you by Miss Regitano.
(2) If you have a personal iOS, Android, or Windows device; KindleFire, NOOK, or Chromebook don't forget to ask your parents/guardians give you permission to bring it on the field trip.
(3) This field trip is for BOTB participants only.