This year, students from Seaton Elementary School’s fourth and fifth grade will participate in the Washington, D.C., “Battle of the Books.”
Ten students will be mentored and coached by school librarian Karen Spern. This program has existed across the country for 30 years and been found to be an effective way to promote literacy and reading for pleasure. The fourth and fifth grade students at Seaton are already excited, as it is one of their favorite events.
A typical “battle” is a full-day tournament or game, like College Bowl or Family Feud, in which student teams earn points by answering questions about books on the book lists. A typical competition day begins with a meeting, a morning snack and directions for the day. Then teammates are sent to their first round of the battle. They play several rounds, each against a different team. At the end of the morning, points are totaled and the two teams with the most points are invited to a “Grand Battle” with the other teams as their audience.
This year’s battle will be held on Feb. 9, 2018. Students are already beginning to read the required books in anticipation of the contest. As part of the Seaton program this year, we would like to provide each participating student a paperback copy of at least one of the books they agree to read. We are asking the Seaton community to consider donating one of the books listed below. A link to the Seaton Library Wish List is also provided.
2018 Book List
“Ghosts” by Raina Telgemeier
“Crossover” by Kwame Alexander
“Public School Superhero” by James Patterson
“Counting by 7s” by Holly Goldberg Sloan
“Roller Girl” by Victoria Jamieson
“Chains (The Seeds of America Trilogy)” by Laurie Halse Anderson
“Crenshaw” by Katherine Applegate
“Space Case” by Stuart Gibbs
SEATON WISH LIST: http://a.co/bnoUvG8
