Battle+of+the+Books+2011

**190 teams reading!!** We are excited to announce that despite cuts in both personnel and funding, we are committed to continuing an Elementary Battle of the Books (EBOB) program to encourage student reading and teamwork. This year’s competition will need to be different from previous years to accommodate an unprecedented number of registered teams. Grade 4/6 has 100 registered teams. Grade 7/8 has 90 registered teams. That’s 1,330 students reading! The 2011 Elementary Battle of the Books will have a series of components. There will be one online practice battle and one online qualifying battle, followed by a championship round at the Medill training center for qualifying teams.
 * Elementary Battle of the Books (EBOB) 2011 **
 * Google Docs selected as the 2011 Format: ** In order to register for the battle this year, coaches were required to fill out and submit a Google Document. Since coaches are already familiar with and have access to Google Docs and because of its capacity to timestamp and ask questions in a variety of formats, we will be using the Google Docs format for the preliminary rounds of the Elementary Battle of the Books this year.
 * Practice Battle to gain confidence with the new format: ** One month before the actual battle, coaches will gather their student team in front of 1 computer in their school for a practice battle. The __practice battle__ will help familiarize coaches and students with the new format and address technical issues to ensure that all teams are able to participate from school.

**The Online Battle:** In early May, on the same date at the same time, coaches will receive a link to the EBOB 2011 battle quiz with questions at precisely 3:00 p.m. Students will have a set number of minutes to submit their completed battle quiz. Depending on how the numeric quiz scores fall, 9-15 teams per grade level group will be selected for each final. The highest scoring 9-15 teams from grade 4/6 and 9-15 teams from 7/8, will be invited to a final round at the Medill Training Center. More info to follow.

**City Finals at Medill:** On Saturday, June 4th, from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon, the highest scoring 15 per grade level group (240 students) will be picked up at their schools and brought to the Medill Training Center for a final round. The final round will be recorded on video.

** EBOB 2011 Important Dates ** · Nov. 1-April 3rd – Students read the book selections and create practice questions for themselves. · January 18th, 2011 For coaches who volunteer to write questions for EBOB: Questions due by Jan. 18th. E-mail information to follow. · April 4th Monday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. - Practice battle: Grade **4/6** · April 5th Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. - Practice battle: Grade **7/8** · May 4th Wednesday, at 3:00 p.m. - ONLINE qualifying battle: Grade **4/6** · May 5th Thursday, at 3:00 p.m. - ONLINE qualifying battle: Grade **7/8** · May 9th E-mail announcement of championship round finalists this week · May 9th-June 4th -Championship round finalist team coaches need to secure photo release forms, area permission slips and parent permission slips to attend city final Championship round at Medill. · June 4th (Saturday) 10:00 a.m.-12:00 noon - Championship Round City Finals – (highest scoring 30 teams) at the Medill Training Center 1326 W. 14th Place · June 4th -17th Optional School Viewing Events and Medal Distribution at participating schools ** FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions ** ** Samples of question types: ** Ø In what book … did Charlie tour a candy factory? Answer: __Charlie and the Chocolate Factory__ Ø In the book, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, what did Charlie find to gain admittance to the chocolate factory? Answer: a __golden ticket__ Ø In what book will you find the quote: “**"**//Everlasting Gobstoppers! They're completely new! I am inventing them for children who are given very little pocket money.”// ? Answer: __Charlie and the Chocolate Factory__.   Ø What is the author’s name of the book title above, for extra points? Answer: __Roald Dahl__   DJChambers-Malewi@cps.k12.il.us
 * Viewing Event Parties: ** All participating team members from all 190 teams will receive gold medals sent to their schools. Coaches may choose to host a viewing event at their school to view the video of the final round (either during or after the city finals) and present students with their medals.
 * What kinds of questions will be asked during the online quiz and championship rounds? ** Three types of questions will be asked: “In what book..” questions, short answer questions and quotes will all be asked in the online battle. Questions will span a range of difficulty levels.
 * How many students can participate on a team? ** 4-6 students can be on a team with one alternate.
 * Where do we get the books? ** Each team must buy their own set of books. Please see the “Getting Started” file on the wiki for more information. http://cpslibraries.wikispaces.com/ElementaryBattleoftheBooks
 * Does a student need to learn to type to submit the online quiz? ** Though teams will be able to select title and author answers by clicking on them, students will also need to be able to answer short answer questions by typing. Typed responses must be discernible. Teams will not lose points for spelling, capitalization or punctuation errors.
 * What is the role of the team captain? ** Team captains gather information from the team and decide on the final responses for the team. Captains also memorize titles and authors of all the books on the list.
 * Do all team members need their own computer to take the EBOB quiz? ** No. The students gather around one computer to submit their quiz as a group. The computer they use must have Internet access.
 * What if students use their books to answer quiz questions? ** Coaches will be present to moderate their team and make sure no one is using their book or other resources.
 * What if students access the online qualifying battle early or turn it in late? ** The link to the qualifying quiz will not be made available until precisely 3:00 p.m. It will be difficult to finish the quiz in the allotted minutes. All quizzes must be submitted before the time allotment has elapsed. Google docs records the exact time quizzes are submitted. Any team that submits their quiz after the allotted time will not be eligible for the city finals championship round. Coaches monitor the time for their teams.
 * How will the teams who participate in the finals be selected? ** 9-15 teams per grade level group, with the highest scores on the online quiz, will be asked to participate in the City Finals Championship round at Medill. Teams invited to the city finals will receive free bus transportation to the Medill Training Center at 1326 W. 14th Place. Depending on how the numeric scores fall, 9-15 teams per grade level group will be selected for each final. Teams that submit their quizzes after the designated amount of time (TBA) will not be eligible to participate in the city finals.
 * Do we need to secure student travel permission slips from our Area Offices? ** Only **__if__** your team is selected to participate in the Championship City Finals. Between May 9th and June 3rd, coaches whose teams are selected to participate in the Championship city finals round will need to 1) collect and submit photo release forms to the Dept. of Libraries, 2) obtain permission to travel from your Area Office and 3) secure permission slips from parents to participate in the city final championship round. More info. to follow.
 * How do my students access the ICDL titles? ** The 21st title on each official title list is the ICDL title. The ICDL book title is an “International Children’s Digital Library” title selected for each grade level team. ICDL titles can be accessed online for free. Questions about these titles are integrated into the competition questions. [] Click the red book in the middle of the webpage, then type the book’s title in the keyword box and press enter to read the book.
 * What is a “viewing event party” ** ? Coaches who choose to host a viewing event party will have access to a video of the city final competition round during the live event or after the event has concluded. Coaches may choose to invite team members to view the finals at their school and receive their medals at that time. We will survey coaches to gauge interest in a live streaming broadcast.
 * Do we need to enlist a school volunteer for each team? ** No, not this year.
 * How can people volunteer to help at the city final competition at Medill? ** An e-mail will be sent out to coaches and librarians in April, soliciting volunteers for the final round.
 * Will we receive more specific information about the rules and quiz format before the practice and qualifying rounds? ** Yes. Additional information will be posted to the wiki and e-mailed to coaches. Coaches will also receive a sample quiz to get students used to the format of the quiz and used to using drop down menus to select titles and authors.
 * Who can we contact for more information? ** Dorsey Chambers (773) 553-6218