April 2023| Vol. 20 Iss. 04
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BATTLE OF THE BOOKS
COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARY STUDENTS BEG TEACHERS FOR MORE READING TIME By Heather Lawrence | h.lawrence@mycityjournals.com
C
ottonwood Elementary is taking student reading to the next level with their schoolwide Battle of the Books program. During the year, students read from a book list of 12-16 books and then are eligible to be on a battle team and earn prizes. Teachers say it’s taken off “like crazy.” “Granite District used to participate in the national contest, but not anymore. So I talked to the librarian at Upland Terrace Elementary, and learned how to start an in-school program,” said Cottonwood’s librarian Jill Thain. Thain worked with teachers Carly Holmes and Jessica Blackham to create a tailor-made battle plan. When students finish a book from the list, they turn in a summary sheet signed by their parents. Incentive prizes are given during weekly library time by PTA volunteers. Classes can also earn a Chick-fil-A party and other prizes. “One good thing about our version is it involves the lower grades on a junior team, which isn’t part of the national contest. To include them, we divided our school into Battle Readers grades three to five and Junior Readers K to two,” Holmes said. Holmes teaches fourth grade and is over the Battle Readers group. She made the list of 16 books, which includes a Harry Potter book and “Island of the Blue Dolphins.” Blackham teaches first grade and is over the Junior Readers. She chose 12 books, including an Elephant and Continued page 4
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Twins June and Henry Bench are second graders at Cottonwood Elementary who love to read, and they’ve finished all the books on both lists. (Steve Bench)
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