SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Springfield middle school students went head-to-head Thursday for the annual Battle of the Books reading competition.
Eleven teams representing various Springfield public schools were tasked with reading 12 books from the Truman Nominee list, voted on by the Missouri Association of School Libraries. Truman Nominees are determined as the best, most enriching novels available for middle school students.
After completing the list, students are quizzed on their retainment and note-taking skills through the Battle’s online portal. “We have to write a bunch of notes, and then we quiz each other, it’s fun– sometimes we get to eat doughnuts while we’re doing it so that’s nice,“ said seventh grade student Jerry.
“We believe that better readers and writers encourage better citizenship across the board, so the more our students love to read and are literate– they will also become better citizens for our city and our state,“ said Pipkin Middle School Media Specialist Christina Wilkins.
Students entered the competition with weeks of preparation and strategy. “Every person was assigned two books because we have six people, but I read six and took notes on six just in case,“ said Jerry. “Every Friday and sometimes Monday we meet together to discuss the books that we’ve been reading, and we’ll quiz each other. This week we did every day, so we could get a little more training in,“ added teammate Nyah.
The winning team was presented with the prized Battle of the Books trophy.
