Battle of the Books Focuses on Comprehension
(Supplied Photos) Students in grades four through six at the Beach Haven School combined reading skills and friendly competition in a recent Battle of the Books. “It’s all about reading comprehension,” said Ted Loeffler, principal/superintendent. “Students were divided into teams of three.
Teams were asked a series of questions about the 20 books on the list.”
READ AND COMPETE: Displayed in front of the Beach Haven School auditorium stage are the 20 books selected for a recent competition. An example was “In what book were 450 homes and 15 businesses destroyed? The answer: Night of the Twisters.”
He said the students have been reading the 20 books for the past three months. All books were donated by the Beach Haven PTA.
“Not only did the children read and familiarize themselves with 20 pieces of quality literature by competing in this reading challenge, but they also learned to work collaboratively with teammates, set and achieve goals and develop close friendships with competitors along the way,” said Loeffler. “Through a series of elimination battles, two teams qualified to compete in the final battle.
Prizes for the winning team included £200 in Amazon gift cards, while the runners-up received £100 in the gift cards.” The event was facilitated by Sara Holleran, English language arts teacher in grades four to six. Some of the popular selections included The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill, Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan and The False Prince by Jennifer A.
Nielsen. 
Holleran said the Battle of the Books is a national organization aimed to encourage reading and improve literacy skills. “The student competitions are usually similar to the TV series ‘Family Feud’ or Whiz Kids styles of competitions,” the organization says on its website. “However, the structure, format, and rules of the competitions may vary depending on the educational goals, student needs, local resources and personal preferences at various school sites, school districts, county libraries or offices of education.”
Holleran said the goals are similar to Read Across America Day, held on March 2 to commemorate Dr.
Seuss’ birthday.
“Anything which encourages reading is positive,” said Holleran. “It’s a key part of the education process.” –E.E.
