{"id":4148,"date":"2005-04-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4148"},"modified":"2017-06-30T11:56:18","modified_gmt":"2017-06-30T18:56:18","slug":"battle-of-the-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4148","title":{"rendered":"Battle of the Books"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Reading comprehension, retention is the name of this popular game<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Lucky Ligers may have taken home first place honors, but every child came out a winner at the county’s fourth annual Battle of the Books<\/a> on April 14.<\/p>\n

Combining reading comprehension with a thirst for competition and the need for diplomatic cooperation among teams of six students (grades four to six) who have never met before, students had just seconds to come to a consensus answer on questions about the 30 books they were assigned from a pre-selected list.<\/p>\n

Familiar childhood titles such as Beverly Cleary’s Ralph S. Mouse<\/em><\/a> and E.B. White’s Trumpet of the Swan<\/em><\/a>, mingled with newer books like Jamie Gilson’s Do Bananas Chew Gum?<\/em><\/a> and Joanna Cole’s Magic School Bus: Inside the Earth<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I read 29 of the books,” boasted Alexandra Siefe, from Los Berros School in Lompoc, to her No Namers teammate Sarah Jamieson of Foothill School. “When we started the school year, I started to check them all out from the library.”<\/p>\n

Some Vieja Valley School students got an even earlier start when third-grade teacher Teri Brown sent them home with the book list last summer, along with a letter encouraging them to read and take notes. She started meeting with interested students in October, with the top six earning spots on the battle teams.<\/p>\n

“The schools were clamoring for spaces, and it filled very quickly,” said Steve Keithley, who spearheaded the project for the county Office of Education. There were a total of 192 students from 32 public schools.<\/p>\n

Halfway through the four-round battle, it looked like a three-way tie between the Dolphins, the Unlucky Readers and the Flaming Books (the students got to pick their own team names, elect captains and draw team signs as part of their warm-up activities), but the Lucky Ligers managed to pull it off in the final heat. Winning team members included Olivia Cusimano from Cold Spring School; Chris Estrada, Aliso School; Grace Fowler, Patterson Road School; Daniel Gosenberg, Olive Grove Charter School; Celeste Orlosky, Monte Vista School; and Annie Thwing, Vieja Valley School.<\/p>\n

“More than just another competition, Battle of the Books is a great reading incentive program,” said county schools Superintendent Bill Cirone.<\/p>\n

That wasn’t the only incentive, students were also awarded certificates, pins, books, book bags and, for the winning team – T-shirts that said “most extreme reader.”<\/p>\n

Win or lose, for most of the kids it was all about having a good time.<\/p>\n

“I did it last year and I’m back again because it was fun,” said Katie Spieler, a student from Hope School.<\/p>\n

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on April 21, 2005.<\/a><\/h6>\n

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