South Mountain Elementary School

What is Battle of the Books? It is a team-based competition in which members of the team read from a list of selected books and answer questions about the books. The questions are based on the characters, plot, settings, and even quotes from the books.

Grade 5 Battle of the Books Winter Alvin Ho: Allergic to girls, school and other scary things It Only Looks Easy Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key Morning Girl My Teacher is an Alien Niagara Falls, or Does it? Regarding the Fountain Riding Freedom Small Steps A Week in the Woods

Alvin Ho: Allergic to girls, school and other scary things by Lenore Look A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything.

It Only Looks Easy by Pamela Curtis Swallow On the first day of seventh grade when Kat "borrows" a bicycle to go see her dog who was hit the day before by a woman with Alzheimer's disease, she learns about the serious consequences of impetuous actions and manages to make some new friends in the process.

Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos To the constant disappointment of his mother and his teachers, Joey has trouble paying attention or controlling his mood swings when his prescription medications wear off and he starts getting worked up and acting wired.

Morning Girl by Michael Dorris Morning Girl, who loves the day, and her younger brother Star Boy, who loves the night, take turns describing their life on an island in pre-Columbian America; in Morning Girl's last narrative, she witnesses the arrival of the first Europeans to her world.

My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville After Susan sees Mr. Smith the substitute teacher peel off his face, she knows he's an alien and only Peter believes her. Together they work to save the class from Mr. Smith's horrible plans.

Niagara Falls, or Does It? by Henry Winkler & Lin Oliver Fourth-graders Hank, Ashley, and Frankie are excitedly preparing for a magic show at the Rock 'N Bowl when Hank's creative alternative to an English essay lands him in detention and grounded the week of the show.

Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise When the principal asks a fifth-grader to write a letter regarding the purchase of a new drinking fountain for their school, he finds that all sorts of chaos results.

Riding Freedom by Pam Muñoz Ryan A fictionalized account of Charley (Charlotte) Parkhurst who ran away from an orphanage, posed as a boy, moved to California, and fooled everyone by her appearance.

Small Steps by Peg Kehret In a riveting story of courage and hope, Peg Kehret tells of months spent in a hospital when she was 12, first struggling to survive a severe case of polio, then slowly learning to walk again. Her powerful account is also full of the humor that she and four spunky roommates found in daily hospital life.

A Week in the Woods by Andrew Clements The fifth grade's annual camping trip in the woods tests Mark's survival skills and his ability to relate to a teacher who seems out to get him.

Borrowing procedures for Battle of the Books Each student is expected to ALWAYS have a Battle book checked out. Battle book is in addition to any other books you may have checked out. Student are expected to return battle books as soon as they are finished reading it, and to borrow another immediately.

Borrowing procedures for Battle of the Books - continued Students will be given a ziploc bag and a tracking bookmark. Battle book must be kept in the bag when you are not reading it. It needs to be kept in good condition, and keeping it in the bag helps protect it. Students will record the barcode number of the book they have checked out on their bookmark.

Participation in the Battle Students must read at least 3 books to participate in the class battle. Students will receive prizes based on the number of books they read. Prizes not determined yet, but students will earn prizes for reading 3 (or more), 5 (or more) or 8 (or more) of the titles. Winning team from each class will battle against each other in the auditorium to determine grade level champion.

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