One of two Sandpoint Middle School teams took top honors in the recent regional Idaho Battle of the Books competition. At the competition, held at Lakeland Middle School on March 19, “The Team That Must Not Be Named” took the top honors after four hours of battles.
Teams read 16 different books over the course of six months, then competed in “battles” against other regional teams in a quiz-style format.
“Both teams were well prepared and did a great job,” said Kelly Curtiss of Sandpoint Middle School.
Idaho Battle of the Books is a voluntary, statewide motivational and reading comprehension program open to all Idaho students in grades four through nine, regardless of ability, according to the group website.
“IBOB is intended to expose students to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints,” organizers said on the website. “The mission of the program is to encourage and recognize students who love to read, to share the love of reading with students who have not yet discovered it on their own, to broaden reading interests, to improve reading comprehension, promote academic excellence, and promote cooperative learning and teamwork among students.”
After book lists are chosen, students read and discuss the books before competing in teams of four students to correctly answer questions based on the books, IBOB officials said.
Half of the questions ask students to answer with the name of the book and the author. In the other half, the students are given the title of the book and have to answer a question about this book. Competitions are organized at local, regional and national levels.
