Battle of the Books

Congratulations to our 5th grade Battle of the Books team! This group of dedicated readers placed 5th in the district competition held April 27th at the Staff Development Center. The students competed against 14 other elementary schools from Durham and were quizzed on their knowledge of 18 books from a designated list issued by the state. Starting in October, the team met with me weekly during their lunch in the Media Center in order to prepare for the competition. I am so proud of their dedication and commitment to the team!

Team photo on competition day!

Mrs. Husketh with all the girls--waiting for the competition to begin

Ready to begin the round-- "In which book....?"

This video was shot on the day of the competition with a Flip camera. Some of the footage was taken by Mrs. Husketh and some was taken by a student:

The other highlight of our year was hosting Joyce Moyer Hostetter, the author of Blue. Teams from 3 other elementary schools joined us in the Media Center for a wonderful 2 hours with Ms. Hostetter. She talked to us about the process of getting a book published and how she gets her ideas. We also learned more about the polio epidemic that struck the town of Hickory, NC, in the 1940s. This was the historical background for her novel, Blue. We are so thankful we got to spend time with such an interesting and inspiring North Carolina author! 

Ms. Hostetter reads from Comfort, the sequel to Blue

Our team poses with Ms. Hostetter at the end of our visit. 

Here is a book trailer for Blue, created by 5th grade team member Georgia: