Name: _______________________________________ #________________ Date: ________________________
Wolf Crossing’s 5th Grade Battle of the Books
Purpose
The Battle of the Books Program is designed to encourage students to read a wide variety of
books. It originated in Chicago in 1938, as a radio book contest where teams from Chicago Public School
libraries competed against each other. Carson Pirie Scott & Co. offered gift certificates with which the
winning team could buy books for their school library. Questions used on the air also earned gift
certificates. The weekly program was broadcast for 25 years.
The object of Battle of the Books is to promote recreational reading and familiarize students with
the best in books and authors. It is based on the premise that most of us enjoy a bit of friendly
competition, as well as the chance to test our knowledge. Battle of the Books is a game where teams try
to answer questions based on the characters, plot, and settings.
Students can read during appropriate times throughout the school day, and reading at home is
strongly encouraged.
Students will make up questions about the books they read (10 questions AND answers per book).
The questions should indicate the reader’s knowledge of the plot, characters, setting, theme, or conflict in
the book. Students MUST read the rules for writing questions found at the end of this document.
Student questions, along with teacher-made questions will be used for the battles.
Booklists
A list of 12 books is included at the end of this packet. Copies of all of the books can be found in
Wolf Crossing’s LRC. However, students may need to acquire books outside of school at either the public
library or bookstores. Purchasing books (especially used books!) is always encouraged, but certainly not a
requirement.
Teams
A Battle of the Books team is composed of 4 students, and is formed with the help of the
classroom teacher. The students select a team name, and each team then meets to determine reading
patterns. Ideally, each book should be read by at least one student on the team. It is not necessary for
students to read all of the books on the list, but each student will be required to read at least three of
the selections. Students, along with the classroom teacher, will decide who will read which book in each
group, and then each group will meet with the classroom teacher for goal setting. If a student is absent
on a day of the battles, the remaining students in that group will need to compete without that
student. Battles will not be rescheduled due to absences.
Name: _______________________________________ #________________ Date: ________________________
Deadlines
For each of the three deadlines listed below, students must turn in 10 questions following the
required format for each book on these days:
Deadline for 1st book and its 10 questions: January 22, 2016
Deadline for 2nd book and its 10 questions: March 11, 2016
Deadline for 3rd book and its 10 questions: April 15, 2016
*Classroom battles will begin the week of April 25, 2016 and the final battle will be a couple weeks
later.
Please keep in mind that these dates may be slightly altered due to unexpected fifth grade scheduling.
Format
1. Rounds 1, 2, and 3 will be determined after students have formed teams.
2. In Round 4, there will be two teams in the finals. These teams will compete in a large group
setting with all fifth graders spectating. This final battle will determine the Battle of the Books
Champion Team! Each team has 1 minute to prepare an ORAL answer. The stopwatch is started
after the question is fully stated. The question will be repeated once after the timer is started.
Teams have a 10-second warning before their time is up. After conferring with teammates, the
team captain will verbally give the answer to the judges for the group. In this final round, teams
may answer questions missed by the opposing team and earn extra points. While this is healthy
competition, the end result is to encourage our students to read, and foster a life-long love of
learning!
3. For all Rounds, to earn the maximum 5 points per question, the correct answer must be given,
along with the title of the book and the author’s last name. 3 points are given for the correct
answer, 1 point for the title, and 1 point for the author’s last name (spelled correctly).
Name: _______________________________________ #________________ Date: ________________________
Battle of the Books Questions Examples
Saving Sweetness, by Diane Stanley
1. Who is the person that runs the orphanage where Sweetness lives? (Mrs. Sump)
2. Why does Sweetness run away from the orphanage? (Mrs. Sump was mean, and made them clean
all of the time)
3. Who goes looking for Sweetness after she runs away? (The sheriff)
4. Who did the sheriff not want Sweetness to see while she was running away? (Coyote Pete)
5. Who ends up adopting Sweetness? (The sheriff)
6. What happens to Coyote Pete? (He goes to jail, and then he marries Mrs. Sump)
RULES FOR WRITING QUESTIONS
In creating/writing questions, make sure to:

Have 10 questions AND ANSWERS

NOT have the title as the answer

NOT have yes or no questions

NOT have true or false questions

NOT have multiple choice questions

NOT use personal pronouns without a character’s name already in the question

Let the reader get a hint from the question as to which book it is

Have questions be able to stand alone, not in a series

Involve the characters, setting, plot, theme, and conflict in questions without asking a question
like, “What is the theme of Holes?”

NOT ask questions about specific pages, words, or sentences
Name: _______________________________________ #________________ Date: ________________________
2015-2016 Battle of the Books List
Title
Author
Lexile
I, Emma Freke
Elizabeth Atkinson
750L
One-Handed Catch
M.J. Auch
710L
Extra Credit
Andrew Clements
830L
Love That Dog
Sharon Creech
1120L
Eleven
Patricia Reilly Giff
600L
Scat
Carl Hiaasen
810L
The Green Glass Sea
Ellen Klages
790L
Inside Out & Back Again
Thanhha Lai
800L
Savvy
Ingrid Law
1070L
Rules
Cynthia Lord
780L
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry
670L
Holes
Louis Sachar
660L