District-Wide Battle of the Books

1. District-Wide Battle of the Books From the Ground Up

2. Presented by the Teacher Librarians of the Merced Union High School District Atwater HS: Sheryl Garman Buhach Colony HS: Julie Cook Golden Valley HS: Jamie Dyra Livingston HS: Tony Doyle Merced HS: Sarah Morgan

3. Libraries in the MUHSD • Long history of full-staffing, good funding • Introduction of TISs circa 2008, TLs cut out of technology loop • 2009-10: Admin proposes cutting 4 of 5 TLs • 2010-11: New IT director, • 2010-11: Second proposal to cut 2.5 TLs • 2010-11 TLs back on technology team • May 2011: B.o.B.

4. History of BoB • Intramural BoB at LHS • "double-block" English classes • Hi-Lo books • Good student and teacher feed-back • America's Battle of the Books • For a small fee you get pre-written questions • Lots of good advice and resources • Less than inspiring title list for HS • Late releasing the HS lists last couple of years • We decided we could do better

5. MUHSD Selection of Titles 20 titles (reduced from 22 the first year) Each district TL selects: • 1 classic title • 1 nonfiction title • 2 contemporary, high-interest young adult fiction titles Made use of existing class sets/shared between sites Titles selected in spring 

6. Questions TLs are responsible for writing 20 questions for each of their selected titles. Questions are written in the form In which book... Google Spreadsheet used to record questions/answers -columns (question, answer, page, author, creator, notes/concerns) -lots of proof reading to weed out vague questions -assign questions to rounds (added column) Export to Excel then printed in Word with a mail merge to a label template 

9. Teams are formed • Recruit students... • Enlist teachers' help... • Signs in library, library website PR, daily announcements  • TAs & book club members • Video challenges to other schools  • Use automation system to identify readers and send personal invitations with a copy of a book  • Book trailers broadcasted on morning announcements  • or looping video in library • video promo  http://www.muhsd.k12.ca.us/Page/2827 • log of 1st / 2nd reader to track what's been covered....

10. Moderators Great PR opportunity- they get to see the kids excited about books. • District big wigs • Principals • Board members • Local dignitaries • Library "Best Sellers" • Other local Librarians & Library Techs Train them!

11. Score and Time Keepers, Runners • School service clubs (e.g. Key Club) and leadership classes are good sources of free labor • Track coaches have lots of stop watches • 10 seconds to consult with team and answer • 5 Seconds to give the author • Runners bring score slips and challenges to library after round

12. The Competition • The "Big Board" • teams face only teams from other schools • teams face each other only once • moving from room to room/building to building • teams need unique names/numbers • Each team gets the same number of questions • No "stealing" points  • Total points determine individual team winner • Average team score determines school winner • Correct answer = 3 points • Correct author = 1 "bonus" point

13. Each team has a designated spokesperson/captain who gives the answer • Only one chance to answer • Same questions in every room each round The Competition (cntd)

14. Keeping Score • Score slips are delivered to the library at the end of each round • Scores are entered in a spreadsheet and totals are automatically updated • Spreadsheet is projected on a large screen

16. When Good Questions Go Bad(a.k.a. Challenges) • Teams can challenge an answer • Moderator fills out challenge slip • Runner brings slip to library • Round continues normally • Librarians review the challenge and add points to the team's score if the challenge is upheld

17. What the Heck?Trials and Tribulations •  Maintaining participants • Calendaring conflicts • Books that aren't engaging • Securing Moderators • Consistancy of moderators during competition • Multiple answers to questions • Technology quirks • Ensuring admistrators do what is necessary • $ and time for ordering shirts • Photography or lack thereof

18. New For 2011-2012 Skyping pracitice competitions Multiple students read each title Mini competitions Practice question writing Publicizing groups to keep accountable Early parent contact

19. The Winning Team Merced High School Merced High School Wins! This competitor is proud of our hard-earned trophy!

20. The Winning Team Golden Valley High School Team Extreme

21. The "To Do" List Things to do in advance • 10 months in advance  • Order B.o.B Titles, at least 3 of each • TLs start reading and writing questions • 7 months in advance • Start advertising and recruiting in Eng Classes  • 6 months in advance • Form "mini" teams and start reading! • Reserve facilities (library, gym, classrooms)  • Secure moderators • 3 months in advance • "Design a BoB t-shirt" contest with art students

22.           The "To Do" ListThings to do in advance • Each month • Meet with teams and make sure they're reading • Practice and mini quizzes  • 2 months in advance • Reserve buses and  • Secure runners • Order t-shirts • Secure student transportation • 1 month in advance • Create permission slips and translate letters home • Write final quiz ("Jeopardy") questions

23. PR • School  & District Websites • School Newsletter • Local Newspapers • Board Member & Community Invites • District Personnel Invites • Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

24. Saturday, May. 21, 2011  Mike Tharp: Battle of the Books Merced area high schools wage war of literary wits An old Chinese proverb says that to read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it a second time is to meet an old one. For the last few months, students at all five schools in the Merced Union High School District have been reading 22 books. Last night at Livingston High, they brought the fruits of their new literary friendships to the first-ever Battle of the Books. Teams of up to 20 students -- freshmen through seniors -- competed with those from other high schools. Judges asked each team questions about the books -- in which book does character so-and-so appear? They got extra points for nailing the author. Whoever got the most points then went brain-to-brain with a team of teachers in a "Jeopardy"-style lightning round. Merced High won the trophy for the highest school average in the competition, Golden Valley High won the individual competition and, in the "Jeopardy"-like contest against the teachers, the teachers beat Golden Valley. The district plans to stage the event every year. A national Battle of the Books (www.battleofthebooks.org) encourages reading by students from third-grade to seniors in high school. Teacher-librarian Tony Doyle at Livingston High started an intramural version there a couple of years ago, and this year he and teachers from Merced High, Golden Valley, Livingston, Buhach Colony and Atwater decided to expand it district-wide. "It's a celebration of literature and literacy," says Doyle, who's been at the school 14 years. "It's another way to get kids involved in school." One of the most dynamic advocates of the contest is Merced High's librarian, Sarah Morgan. Since November, she and her team of 18 students and three teachers have been reading the books, meeting every three weeks as a group to discuss what they've read, conducting mini-quizzes and spreading the word about the value of reading. Honors students, football players, band members, second-language learners -- all sorts of kids have volunteered for the competition. "They're totally willing to read the books on top of their own schoolwork," Morgan says. "They want to read because they love it. They want to compete to show they're the best readers in the district." Ruth Saldivar, a junior, found Graceling by Kristen Cashore "very fun to read." The publisher's website says the book "creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive and leave you wanting more." One day, Ruth wants to study psychology. "I'm interested in the mind," she says. "What makes people think -- what makes people snap." She usually reads a book a day and calls reading "an adventure that gets you out of your everyday life." Senior Jesus Marquez is also on the Merced High team. Joining Battle of the Books "gave me a lot more options -- I was running out of good books. It rekindled ideas of the kind of books I can read." Jesus, 18, will enter the Navy after he graduates and will serve six years -- so he can study nuclear physics. His favorite genre is science fiction, and he hits the main county library at least once a week to stock up. "It's very exciting," he says of sci-fi. "You can see a pretty realistic future." It took him three weeks to read the required 22 books. Teachers from each school suggested four or five books they thought were interesting. They range from fiction to nonfiction, from classics to contemporary. Several touch on local themes: Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men; Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, about illness and treatment among Mercedian Hmong; Wisdom of the Last Farmer by the Central Valley's David Mas Masumoto; and The Afterlife by Fresno's Gary Soto. Listen to Sarah Morgan -- originally from Arcata redwood country way up near the Oregon border -- who's been in charge of Merced High's library of 20,000 books for eight years. Listen to what she says about reading. You'll get just why so many kids she knows signed up: "Reading is the cement that holds everything together. We as a society, as members of the world, have to be good readers -- fiction and nonfiction -- for the sake of being connected to each other, to learn from each other, to share with each other. "We all need to teach reading. There needs to be somebody who says, 'C'mere, let me show you this book.' It just opens up the world, and your life is changed for the better." Case closed. Books open. http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2011/05/21/1899658/mike-tharp-battle-of-the-books.html#storylink=misearch#ixzz1dNGFOGbp

25. Incentives and other $ Team Shirts = fund raising! Thank you gifts for adult helpers Drinks and snacks for all participants The grand prize - all top scorers are entered into a drawing for an e-reader Trophy (with engraving for the winner)

26. MUHSD Libraries BoB Page http://tinyurl.com/cslabob