This spring, Rocky View Schools (RVS) will host its signature literacy event, Battle of the Books, in which elementary and middle school students will compete against one another to see how well they know several books.
On April 11, elementary school teams will take part in a virtual Battle of the Books competition using an online platform. Then, on May 7, middle school students will gather for an in-person event at the Rocky View Schools Education Centre in Airdrie.
This year marks the eighth edition of the middle school competition and the fifth for elementary students.
“Battle of the Books is a great event that helps advance students’ literacy skills while having fun with their reading,” said Superintendent of Schools Greg Luterbach. “This annual event builds a culture of reading both within our schools and division-wide, as students connect with other readers across our many communities.”
According to RVS, this year’s elementary battle features 12 teams from Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, Springbank and rural Rocky View County. Ten middle schools from Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere have teams preparing for the event in May
"During the battle of books, participating schools form teams of up to six participants in a mix of grades – Grades 3-5 for elementary schools and Grades 5-8 for middle schools. To prepare for the event, students read a selection of books in a range of genres, reading levels and media formats, including fiction, nonfiction, picture books, graphic novels, audiobooks and ebooks. This encourages students to adventure beyond their reading comfort zone, as they pick up books they might not normally choose for themselves," shared RVS.
In the virtual elementary event, teams will compete using an online trivia platform that awards points for both accuracy and speed. Over three rounds of true/false and multiple-choice comprehension questions, the team with the highest score will be crowned the winner.
"During the in-person event, middle school teams will battle one-on-one, each competing in three matchups. Teams take turns answering questions for points, but if they are unable to correctly answer, the opposing school can earn points by providing the correct answer."
At the battles, teams are tested on their understanding of the novels they studied. The format for Battle of the Books varies per age group. Students will answer "in the book…" and "in which book…" questions and provide both the author and title for points. The top three teams will be selected based on their point total.
“One of the great things about Battle of the Books is that it provides students an opportunity to participate in a team-based activity that is not a sport,” said teacher and Battle of the Books Committee Chair Kerry Kindermann. “By showing students that reading can be associated with fun, Battle of the Books also helps create life-long readers who find joy in reading. When kids find joy in reading, they will continue to do it for the rest of their lives.
RVS also shared that in addition to winning funds from RVS to purchase books for their learning commons, the winning teams also receive an athletics-style banner that they proudly display in their schools.
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