OLD HOMEPAGE: BOTB Resources

JUNE

• Booklists available

SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER

• Student Enrollment - registrations (locally see your librarian)
• Begin reading!!
• Librarians can form teams.
• Meeting with Coaches to go over rules and answer any questions.

NOVEMBER

• Continue reading!!
• Lunchtime and after-school discussions recommended.
• See your school policies for getting approval for Team transportation and participation in the March Battle.

JANUARY

• Teams are encouraged to practice with self-created questions.
• Continue reading required books!!
• Meeting with Readers and Coaches to go over rules and explain how the day will be run.

FEBRUARY

• Complete reading of booklists!!
• In-school battles held to determine team members.
• Team captains chosen (only the captains can speak for the team in in-person competition). Choose alternate captain and team member(s).
• Names will be collected (via Google form).  Link will be sent to all coaches and Librarians.
• Schedule for Battles will be completed and sent to all coaches and librarians.
• Letters to school administrators will go out from WSWHE SLS.

MARCH

• District permission slips should sent home for signature, if needed.
• March - Let the games begin!

APRIL/MAY

• Committee will meet to review competition and make suggestions for following year

General Information

Note: Some of this information pertains to in-person battles. For years when BOTB has to run virtually (such as 2021 and 2022), all students on BOTB teams can participate, so there's no need to run elimination battles to determine who gets to compete. New titles have been added for 2023.

Battle of the Books is organized by our local librarians to:

* Select 10 books per grade level to make this manageable and realistic 
* Add 1 new title per grade each year (remove 1 title)
* Include non-fiction as well as fiction material 

Here's an overview:

• Librarians serve as the contact person and/or coach, but coaching could be run by a teacher, parent or other adult.
• We recommend "scrimmages" along the way at your school to decide who will best represent your district. (For in-person years)
• The teams will be organized by the following grade levels:
  • Third Grade
  • Fourth Grade
  • Fifth Grade
  • Sixth Grade

• Questions will be recall and recognition.
  • A complete set of rules for 2023 are above on this LibGuide page.
  • The questions for each grade level will be based on 10 books. The books have been carefully chosen by this, and previous, committees. We have chosen a blend of fiction and non-fiction to support the emphasis of building knowledge and reading texts carefully for comprehension and factual learning. 
  • There will be banners awarded to the winning schools for 1st through 4th Place.

If there are more than 15 students per grade, it is up to the school to run "elimination" battles (for in-person BOTB years), since in-person teams going to SUNY Adirondack can have a maximum of 15 students. Battles compete in classrooms where there is limited space.