Battle of the Books 2018

Even in only my short time at Iroquois, it was immediately evident that the middle school has a community of avid, enthusiastic readers.  From the student surveys gathered at the beginning of the year during library orientation, I received feedback that a reading competition would be well-received.

Luckily for me, a group of amazing WNY librarians already created the foundation for an incredible middle school book competition.  Donn Riggi, librarian at Alden Middle School, has hosted a Battle of the Books event for her students for the last eleven years.  Last year, the Alden Battle of the Books was expanded to a multi-district event including Orchard Park Middle School (with librarian Paul Kloster) and Hamburg Middle School (with librarian Megan Moelbert).  This dynamic librarian trio aimed to make the 2018 event bigger and better, and they certainly delivered!  Due to their legwork and outreach, the 2018 Battle of the Books competition garnered participation from ten area schools, including Iroquois.  Mrs. Riggi, Mr. Kloster, and Mrs. Moelbert provided the book battle newbie librarians with promotional materials, quiz questions, and support designed to get the Battle of the Books off the ground in other schools.

Flyer promoting the competition.

Mrs. Webb, sixth grade ELA teacher at Iroquois, was eager to take part in the Battle of the Books experience.  Having her as a co-advisor for the Iroquois event was tremendously valuable as she was able to promote the Battle in her classes.  Two heads are always better than one!

We began our Iroquois Battle of the Books in mid-February.  We held informational sessions for students which gave them details about the event and the books chosen for the competition.  Students were encouraged to form teams of 3-5 students.  Each team would test their knowledge against other Iroquois teams by answering trivia questions pertaining to the five books chosen for the competition.  There were two rounds of questions.  After the two rounds, the Iroquois team with the highest combined score would travel to Hamburg Middle School to compete with the other WNY teams.

Battle of the Books information distributed to students.

Page two of the Battle of the Books brochure.

Thirty-six students in grades 6-8 signed up to be a part of the competition!  The teams included: My Personal Favorite, Fat Cats, Three Musketeers, Budget Crusaders, Reader's Mind, The Chipmunks, Golden Girls, Rogue Squadron, and The Radical Readers.  Leading up to the competition, students were encouraged to visit the library during select lunch periods to meet with their teammates and ask questions of the advisors.  

"My Personal Favorite" meets over lunch to discuss books.

A lunchtime meeting for Battle of the Books.

Members of "The Chipmunks" meet with Mrs. Webb.

The two preliminary rounds at Iroquois took place in mid-April 2018.  During the first round, Kathryn Puehn, librarian at Elma Public Library, came to discuss the programming (specifically the public library's Battle of the Books) at Elma.  I'm hopeful that students will decide to participate in these great programs! 

The competition was fierce, as the final scores were very close!  It was clear that students really read the books carefully.

The Three Musketeers

The Golden Girls

Fat Cats!

Budget Crusaders

The Radical Readers

At the end of the Iroquois rounds, Rogue Squadron emerged victorious!  This team, comprised solely of sixth grade boys, scored 77 out of a possible 80 points.  On April 26th, 2018, Rogue Squadron traveled to Hamburg Middle School to battle against the other WNY teams.

Ready for the Book Battle!

I wouldn't mess with Rogue Squadron!

Rogue Squadron placed a respectable third out of the ten schools competing.  They were only one point behind the teams that had tied for first!  They were respectful, polite, and professional while at Hamburg Middle School. 

We returned to school after the WNY competition and held an after school pizza party for all Iroquois participants.  Students shared their suggestions for books they would like to read next year and received participation certificates.  A special thanks to all students who participated and to Mrs. Webb for being an awesome co-advisor!  We are already looking forward to next year.