Information for you on a wonderful opportunity for all Kern County Students!
1. What is Battle of the Books (BOB)?
! An opportunity for students in grades 4-6 or 7-8 to read, discuss, and quiz on a
pre-determined set of book titles
! BOB exposes students to a variety of genres and authors; to books they may not
normally read.
! Can be a club at school helping to meet the needs of all readers. It can also be
just one or more students that love to read and have a volunteer to guide them.
2. When and where are the 2019 Battles scheduled?
! For grades 4-6, the battles will be on Monday, May 6,2019 for Central region;
Tuesday, May 7, 2019 for North region; OR Friday, May 10, 2019 for South
region.
The 4-6 battles will be held on the grounds of Pioneer Village @ Kern County
Museum – 3801 Chester Avenue Bakersfield, CA 93301
! Timeline for battle day is 8:30am-1:00pm
! The 4-6-grade Kern Battle of the Books will be held on the grounds at Pioneer
Village. All battles will be held outdoors on the grounds of Pioneer Village @ Kern
County Museum.
! There is ample parking at the museum with easy access for the busses.
! The 6-8 competition is chaired by Lorrie Roberts (loroberts@kern.org) and will be
held at Valley Oaks Charter School. Please contact Lorrie directly for dates and
information for the 6-8 competition. (This competition is not part of the 4-6 Kern
County Battle of the Books).
! If your school is interested in the 3rd grade competition, the contact person for
that event is April Vegas at Del Rio Elementary School - (661) 588-6050
3. How do I know whether I am a north county, central county, or south county school?
! An updated list with the new division of schools will be posted soon.
! The list for 2019 will depend on the schools that register for the event. If you
are not sure what day you will attend, please keep all three days available until
the registration deadline has passed. A final determination will be made and you
will be notified by one of the coordinators.
4. Just what is a battle?
! Students from each school are placed on mixed school teams
! Students are never one on one against each other; this is a team competition. Five
points are awarded for knowing the correct title and an additional two points for
knowing the correct author. Yes! There is a chance to steal a question!
! All questions begin with, “In what book...”
! Example: In what book did a boy travel across the ocean on a piece of fruit?
! Each team has 30 seconds to give the title, 10 more seconds to give the author.
A stealing team has 10 seconds to give both answers after the question has been
re-read.
! Each battle has 24 questions; 12 for each of the two battling teams.
5. Which grades are involved in BOB?
! 4th-6th grades have a list of 30 titles. These titles rotate every three years. This
saves money from having to purchase new books each year.
! 6th-8th grades also have a list of 30 titles that rotate every three years.
6. Where do the lists of books come from?
! Our lists of books come from American Battle of the Books. Their web site is:
http://www.battleofthebooks.org/book-list. Please note: We use the “standard 30 book list”
4-6.
! All lists include books above and below grade levels.
! BOB practice questions are available through the www.battleofthebooks.org
website, with a membership (which is optional). We do not provide practice
questions.
7. Do students have to read all of the books on the list?
! Kern County Battle of the Book rules call for students to read 20 of the 30 titles
on the list. This requirement leads to a standardization of the playing field for the
students.
! You may choose to hold the students accountable for their reading by asking them
to pass Accelerated Reader tests. Because some titles are above the students’
grade level, we ask for a minimum of 60% passing.
! Some schools have the students write questions for the books they are reading.
These questions are later used in practice battle sessions.
! Our experience shows members of battle teams often exclude students who are
not “well-read”.
8. What makes our county competition unique?
! It is not a school vs. school contest. As the students are registered they are
placed on teams with students from other schools. Therefore one team may
have a student from Fairfax, Maricopa, Lamont, Downtown and Rosamond
Schools!
! This develops friendships and allows for the practice of leadership skills.
! Ice Breaker questions in the program are used to help the students get to know
each other.
! Advisors are asked to have a nametag for each student.
9. What does “Battle” day look like?
! Each student is placed onto a team. Each team has an animal name. Team members
take some time to get to know each other. Icebreaker questions are provided for
this purpose.
! There are six battles throughout the morning. This year, all battles will be held
outside on the Pioneer Village grounds. The scoring is a culmination of points
earned from each battle. The top two scoring teams have a final battle for first
and second place at the awards ceremony.
! Every student receives a certificate of participation awarded at the home school.
The top teams win ribbons with the top two teams winning medals.
! Each team has a sign to carry as they travel to each battle. During the battle, the
captain holds the sign. The captain is the only person who can give the answer to
the question for the team. The captain can change for each round.
! There will be a gathering area with team signs posted to assist students with
finding their team at the beginning of the battle day.
! Students bring a sack lunch to enjoy after the battles but before the awards
ceremony. School teams often designate an area to meet after the last battle.
Students eat with their school, not with their competition team. Every school
brings their own large trash bag to hold all lunch trash. We want to leave the
museum grounds clean.
10. What about BOB team shirts?
! Some schools wear their school shirt
! Some schools have team shirts made
! Team shirts are NOT required.
! Some schools just ask their students to wear the same color shirt
! All students need to be prepared to sit on a tarp on the ground for their battles.
Please dress accordingly. Since it is held outside, a hat may be appropriate and
sunscreen would be advised.
11. What type of help is needed on Battle day?
! Volunteers are needed for readers, timers and shepherds
o Timers time the answers and keep score on a fail-safe score sheet.
o Readers read the questions as modeled above.
o A Shepherd stays with and escorts the team. They help to manage students
while staying positive. The Shepherd is the team’s cheerleader.
o We ask for each participating school to send three adult volunteers –
one reader; one timer; one shepherd
12. How does a school participate?
! Kern County Battle of the Books will be registering schools. The deadline to submit
intent to participate form and registration fee will be October 19, 2018.
! Send the registration form and check to Kern County Battle of the Books, c/o
Marilyn Fowler, 7809 Olcott Avenue, Bakersfield, CA, 93308.
! Student participant lists are due in early March 2018. E-mail reminders with due
dates will be sent to registered schools.
! Each School may bring up to 35 team members.
13. Who are the contact people for Battle of the Books?
! North County competition chair: Katie Feldstein at
battleofthebooksnorth@gmail.com
! Central County competition chair: Jan Lanse at
battleofthebookscentral@gmail.com
! South County competition chair: Sarah McDonald at
batteofthebookssouth@gmail.com.
! Kern County Superintendent of Schools contact person: Teresa Twisselman at
tetwisselman@kern.org
Kern Reading Association and Kern County Superintendent of Schools sponsor this year’s event. We are
so thankful to have such wonderful sponsors associated with this event!
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