Battle of the Books----- Merton Chen

Hardin Park conquers in county Battle of the Books

Hardin Park Elementary School took home first place for the third year in a row at the county-wide Battle of the Books Competition, held Friday.

The Hardin Park School elementary Battle of the Books Maroon team includes, from left, Ethan Branton, Devinne Shook, Merton Chen, Catherine Catoe, James Stanley, Austin Lubkemann. Back: Gillian Cone, Simon Marland.

Eight teams from elementary schools throughout the county competed, but Hardin Park’s Maroon Team is the only one that will go to the regional competition, to be held April 18 at the Statesville Civic Center.

Friday’s competition was the elementary-aged component of a program that also offers a division for middle school students.

Students prepare for Battle of the Books by reading a predetermined list of books, on which they are quizzed at the competition.
During the many rounds of the event, the teams go head to head against another team, collecting points to win. Volunteer moderators give students specific details from the books, asking them to identify which book and author that detail came from.

Each team can have six students participating at a time, but many teams have additional members who act as alternates. During a round, the teams are each asked six questions, worth three points each. If one team misses a question, that question is redirected to their competitors, giving them the opportunity to earn two extra points. The team that collects the most points at the end of all the rounds is the winner.The middle school and elementary competitions differ in the number of books the students must read.

Middle school students have a list of 27 books, while the younger children have a list of 12. The list of books offers a wide variety of genres. It includes children’s classics as well as new books.Emily Rothrock, Hardin Park’s AIG teacher and coach of the winning team, said one of the strengths of the program is that it motivates the students to read genres that they might not read otherwise.In preparing for the competition, the students have the opportunity to discuss what they have read and improve their overall reading comprehension, Rothrock said. Plus, “it really encourages teamwork,” she said.The students must meet after school to practice. “It is a commitment,” Rothrock said, “especially when they have to do it on top of what is required in class.”In terms of the regional competition, Rothrock said the only difference will be that the students will compete against each team twice throughout the day, instead of once as with the county contest.Rothrock said she is proud of her team’s performance so far and feels they are ready to take on the regionals. “I really think they’re as prepared as they can be,” she said. Though teams from Hardin Park have won the last three countywide Battle of the Books competitions in the elementary division, this is the first year they will be able to compete at the regional level.

This year is the first that the state has offered Battle of the Books on the elementary level. Regional and state competitions for older students have been available for many years.Bethel’s middle school-aged team will compete at their regional competition Friday, April 11 in Boone.