Schools

Wilson Wins Book Battle

Caldwell-West Caldwell fourth graders compete in annual Battle of the Books "quiz show."

Wilson Elementary School fourth-graders earned first place honors in Caldwell-West Caldwell Schools annual Battle of the Books competition held on Feb. 15.

Battle of the Books uses a quiz-show format to test students’ knowledge and comprehension of books chosen for the competition by local elementary school media specialists.

This year’s books included Frindle by Andrew Clements; Hank Zipzer #6: Holy Enchilada by Henry Winkler; Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies; and Phineas L. MacGuire Erupts by Frances O'Roark Dowell. 

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Student teams from the district’s four elementary schools prepared for the competition by reading and discussing the books, as well as quizzing each other. The top teams from each school went head-to-head last week at Jefferson Elementary School, last year’s champion.

“This is a real commitment and we think that all of the students win in this competition,” stated Lincoln School Media Specialist Doreen Golembeski in a release. “To read an extra four books on top of their normal work load, then, remember and comprehend the details within these books, truly takes a lot of time and effort. The students work hard at learning the plot, characters and details of these books.”

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Battle of the Books is a national reading motivation and comprehension program designed to promote academic excellence, encouraging and recognizing students who enjoy reading, broaden reading interests, and increase reading comprehension.

The competition is based on a radio program sponsored by the Chicago Public Library in the early 1940s. Joanne Kelly, a student participant in the radio show, grew up to be a school librarian in Illinois. Kelly reconstructed the radio show from memory for use in her library.


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