This year’s top three elementary Battle of the Books teams celebrated their performance with medals and congratulations Tuesday following a competition last week that required tiebreakers to determine a winner.
Following two rounds of 32 questions each, teams from Nolanville and Skipcha elementary schools stood tied at the top among 19 participating elementary school team.
It took three tie-breaking questions to finally separate the leaders.
Nolanville earned the first-place finish and Skipcha took second place.
There was also a tie for third place between Reeces Creek and Fowler and the tiebreaker went to Reeces Creek to conclude the event.
District instructional technologist Kiree Bons oversaw the virtual event with each team participating on their campuses.
While distributing medals and signs, Bons interacted with students to find out which books they preferred.
Most schools that participate in the annual literary trivia contest form book clubs and meet weekly through most of the school year to read and discuss the 20 books that KISD librarians select for the event.
“What’s exciting is seeing the passion they develop for reading,” Bons said, following the three school visits to celebrate with each team.
The chosen books cover a wide array of genres and include many Bluebonnet Award winning titles.
The book battle encourages students to try out new genres and to go deeper into the ones they already enjoy, she pointed out.
Molly Snyder, a third-grader on the winning Nolanville Elementary School team said the Battle of the Books was fun because it combined reading and competition, which she loves.
“Maybe the best part is getting to compete,” she said. “I’m a very competitive person. I also love reading. I think I have a passion for reading.”
At Reeces Creek, fifth-grader Josiah Lopez said his favorite part of Battle of the Books was making new friends.
Killeen ISD photo albums: https://www.killeenisd.org/photos
Nolanville team – Molly Snyder, Luke Ogles, Asher Larson, Abigail Lyle and Dane Hyatt, II
Skipcha team – Hannah Cheong, Bailey Drake, Oberyn Guzman, Camila Hernandez and Lailani Anduze
Reeces Creek team – Preston Jones, Dalilah Torres, Jonill Thomas, Matty Weiss and Victoria Otero Rojas