Husky Book Battle 

WHAT IS HUSKY BOOK BATTLE?

Our second Highcroft Husky Book Battle will be kicked off this year and will be offered to our 4th and 5th graders.

 

The Husky Book Battle is our Highcroft Drive Elementary School version of America's Battle of the Books program. It is a voluntary reading incentive club, with a purpose of encouraging students to read books and have fun. This program teaches students responsibility and teamwork skills, as teammates depend on each other to read the books within a given timeframe and retain key information.

 

The program offers students a friendly competition component, amongst Highcroft peers and the potential for a virtual school vs. school battle with another Elementary school team. The game format creates interest and excitement in reading. Through the fun of the competition, students may naturally improve their reading skills, mature in their choices of reading materials, grow their reading comprehension abilities and acquire a broader knowledge base of books.

 

If you have any questions, please email HDE media specialist Mrs. Stephanie Fiedler. (sfiedler@wcpss.net)

Enrollment | FALL 2024

If your child is interested in being a part of the Husky Book Battle, we encourage you to sign them up. We have a maximum capacity of 20 students per grade.  A separate enrollment email will be sent out to all 4th and 5th grade families and an acceptance email will be sent to the selected 40 students once a decision has been made.

 

parent involvement and commitment level

In order for your student to be eligible for Husky Book Battle, you as a parent must hold a PTA Membership. The funding and volunteer staff provided come from the PTA, and we need your help to keep clubs like this one going year over year. 

 

We expect parents to encourage your student to meet their reading commitments and to help them attend the monthly club meetings. Additionally, parents commit to replacing borrowed books from the Media Center should a book be lost, stolen or damaged. 

 

Students make a team commitment to read their books and to actively participate in the competition with their teams. Students are expected to come to each monthly club meeting, this is not a drop in as you wish type of activity. 

 

COST

There is no cost to participate in this club, as it is sponsored by the PTA. 

 

We will have a limited number of books on hand at the Highcroft Drive Media Center to lend to students who need to borrow a copy.

 

Parents are encouraged to facilitate whatever means of access to these books that are available to them. This could mean accessing these titles through the Wake County Public Library system, or purchasing them separately for your student.

 

BOOKS

The books we will be reading are shown below. There are 10 books chosen for each grade level. Each student does not have to read every book on the list, as their assigned team will devise a strategy for ensuring they have coverage on each book (ex: 2 team members read book 1, 2 different team members read book 2, etc.).

 

 

Meeting Frequency and Location

Husky Book Battle teams will meet monthly. Fourth and Fifth grade teams will meet on different days. 

First meetings for both teams will be held in October from 8:00 am-8:45 am. The remaining meetings will be held from 8:20 am-8:45 am. 

• 4th grade: October 28th, November 21st, December 19th, January 30th, February 27th and March 20th
• 5th grade: October 29th, November 22nd, December 20th, January 31st, February 28th and March 21st

 

Attendance at monthly meetings is not optional. Please be on time for meetings. When students are late, this takes away from time with their team.

 

competition dates AND LOCATION

Our inter-school competition will take place at Highcroft Drive Elementary School on April 11th, 2025. The competition will be facilitated by school staff and PTA volunteers. Parents are not able to be in attendance.

 

We are working with other WCPSS schools to determine if  we could collaboratively host a virtual intra-school battle. More details to be announced about this at a later date. We anticipate a book battle taking place in May if this were to come to fruition.

 

volunteers

 

Volunteer Registration is required if you would like to help when needed. 

 

 

Resources

Huskies Book Battle Journal

 

Below are links to an introduction of the books. Once the Google slides are opened via the links, click the cover of each book to watch a trailer.

 

Introduction to 4th Grade Books

 

Introduction to 5th Grade Books

 

Parent FAQs

 

What is the Huskies Book Battle?

Battle of the Books  is a voluntary reading incentive club for students in 4th and 5th grades. The purpose is simply to encourage students to read good books and have fun while competing with Highcroft peers. It is also a great opportunity to learn responsibility and teamwork because teammates depend on each other to read the books within a given timeframe. At this time, we are not planning to compete outside of our Highcroft peers.

 

Why should a student  participate in the Huskies Book Battle?

The Huskies Book Battle encourages students to read great books. The books are from a wide range of genres, characters, and award-winning books. One of the best things about participating in the challenge is reading and enjoying books that the students may have never chosen on their own.

 

How many books are the students expected to read? 

There are 10 books chosen for each grade level. Students must commit to reading at least 5 books (many choose to read more). Students will work with their assigned team to devise a strategy for ensuring they have coverage on each book (ex: 2 team members read book 1, 2 different team members read book 2, etc.). The students have approximately 6 months to read all books. 

 

How are teams formed?

As part of the first meeting, students will be assigned to teams consisting of four students. 

 

What will the monthly meetings entail? 

During the first meeting, an overview of all the books that need to be read by the team will be provided. Once students have read some of the books, the team will discuss the ins and outs of each book so that everyone on the team has a general understanding of the book. Then, games may be played to sharpen their knowledge of each book. Finally, the teams will prepare for their  competition. The meetings will be student-driven and are to keep them accountable to their team. 

 

Does my child need to attend every meeting?

Yes. Attendance at monthly meetings is not optional.

 

Are volunteers/parents needed at the meetings?

For this 1st meeting, we will work with the students. Should we decide after this 1st meeting that additional help could be beneficial, we will reach out to the parents. 

 

What are the questions like?

The questions will not be interpretive questions. They will relate to a character, the setting, or important events of the plot and have concrete answers. In all cases, the answer will be the title of the book. 

 

Sample question:

 

Question: In what book, does the main character sleep with a stuffed gorilla each night?

Answer: The One and Only Ivan

 

Do we have to buy the books?

No. The Highcroft library will have copies for students to borrow. However, if your child prefers their own copy to keep or make notes etc., then we recommend the parent to purchase a copy at a local or online bookstore. 

 

The books are also available at the Wake County Public Library. We have selected  books that have a high number of copies at the Wake County library. Students are encouraged to put in a request for the books as soon as they have been accepted into the program if this is an option you would like to explore.

 

Do they have to bring all three books to every meeting?

No. Only to the first meeting. They will bring the book they are reading at the time. 

 

Will the books change every year? Can we recommend books for next year?

At this time, we do not have plans on changing the books every year as it requires a larger investment. If interest continues to grow, we will explore expanding the program and incorporating more books that can be used in years to come. 

 

How did you choose the book titles?

Choosing titles can be a fun and challenging task and were selected while adhering to the BOE (Board of Education) policies ! The good news is we have another local school that has had multiple years of success with these titles with the same targeted audience. Additionally, the selected books were chosen based on public library availability ,costs and a cross-reference with other programs that may already be reading books such as AIG students or within your student's regular classroom. The titles are a diverse subject matter and characters, are award-winning titles, and have a representation of a wide variety of genres. Should you have a concern about any of these titles, please feel free to contact Angie Baughman at the email listed above.

 

Can I come and watch my child participate?

Parents are not able to be in attendance at this time. The Book Battle will be streamed live on April 11th.

 

What can I do to help my child?

Help to obtain books and discuss the books with your child to help them comprehend the story and remember some of the important details of the story. Encourage your child to be positive with their team members and with the other teams. Make sure they are staying on-task of reading their books. And most importantly, make sure they are having fun!

 

How will I find out if a meeting has been rescheduled?

For last minute reasons, parents will be notified either the day before or by 7am the day of the meeting.

 

What else does my child need for these meetings?

This program is new to us and we are learning as we go.

 

We have decided it would be great to have the students keep a journal tracker as part of reading the books. This will help them prepare for the questions asked. The document will be shared with the students at the 1st meeting and has also been posted here on the website should you need additional copies. 

 

We are open to parent and student ideas for how to best prepare for a book battle.