Battle of the Bluebonnets
Rules and Regulations
Eligibility
· Students in grades 3-5 may participate in the Elementary School Competition.
· Five students will represent each school entered in the contest.
· One student will serve as Captain.
· Other students from the school may come to observe.
Reading List
· The official Texas Bluebonnet Reading List of 20 books.
Procedures
· The announcer will read the questions as they are displayed on a screen.
· There will be a set of multiple-choice answers for each question.
· After the question has been read, the teams will have 30 seconds to discuss and lock in their answer.
· Answers will be entered electronically.
· Every team will answer each question.
· As soon as all teams have answered, the announcer will move on to the next question.
· At the end of each round, scores will be announced.
· A round will consist of ten questions.
· The Battle of the Books will last for 30 minutes.
· In the case of a tie at the end of 30 minutes, 3 additional questions will be asked of the tied teams.
Awards
· Each participant will receive a certificate, a medal and a paperback book.
If you are interested in participating, please see your librarian for a permission slip. This year’s contest will be held in February.
Battle of the Bluebonnets
Leander ISD elementary schools celebrate nominated Bluebonnet Books by holding The Battle of the Bluebonnets, a game show style reading contest. Last year’s competition was so successful our middle schools have decided to join the celebration.
We began by compiling a bank of multiple choice questions for each of the nominated Bluebonnet Books. These questions were entered into a computer software delivery system called Classroom Performance System, or CPS. Then, each elementary school librarian created a team of five students from grades 3 – 5. Librarians were free to form their teams in whatever manner they thought would work best. Some held a Battle of the Bluebonnets elimination round while others chose to give a qualifying quiz. And for others it was simply the first five students to sign up.
Battle of the Bluebonnets Team CPS Remote CPS Delivery System
We originally planned to involve the Public Library by asking them to host the big competition, but soon realized that neither one of our public libraries had the space. One of our librarians, whose school is central to the district, volunteered her school. We then invited parents, classmates, teachers, and administrators to come and cheer their team on.
All participants and fans met in the campus multi-purpose room on the big day. Our superintendent, Dr. Bret Champion, served as the event’s master of ceremonies. With much enthusiasm he read each question and corresponding multiple choice answers as they were displayed on a large screen. Teams had 30 seconds to discuss and “lock in” their answers by clicking the corresponding answer choice on their remote control. Once all teams were “locked in”, the correct answer was revealed amid cheers, high-fives and whoops of delight! Two rounds were played, and at the end of each round scores were announced.
Dr. Bret Champion, Master of Ceremonies
Our goal from the very beginning of this endeavor was simply to encourage our kids to read these high quality books and to have a fun culminating activity to celebrate their accomplishment. The event surpassed our expectations! Because we knew that every participating student worked very hard; they were all winners and so deserved the Battle of the Bluebonnets award plaque. We ended the event with a small reception.
Student Award
Title: Bluebonnet Battle of the Books Reading Contest
Audience: 3rd-6th grade
Purpose: Find a fun way to promote the Bluebonnet Books.
Objective: Keep our kids reading, discussing and sharing books.
Materials needed:
· Rules for the contest
· Tables for each team (17)
· Tables for refreshments (2)
· Chairs for team members (85)
· Chairs for fans (150),
· CPS
· Laptop
· Screen
· Microphone
· Book Questions ( )
· Refreshments – cookies, punch, cups, plates, napkins (lots).
Volunteers needed: - 7:
· 1 person for introductions
· 1 MC
· 1 person to work the laptop
· 2 people to run the refreshments table
· 1 person to take pictures
· 1 person in charge of trophies
Preparation:
· Explanation to students and teachers
· Letter home to parents
· Questions written for each book and typed into the CPS
· Invite the Superintendent to be the MC and the host school principal to welcome contestants and guests
· Buy the trophies
· Send (to participating librarians) a signup sheet for refreshments.
Implementation:
· Maintenance people set up the furniture
· Host librarian set up the laptop and CPS.
Clean up:
· Maintenance people put away the furniture.
· Host librarian packed up the CPS
· We cleaned up the refreshment table.
Because this was a group effort, our Battle of the Bluebonnets went very smoothly. As mentioned earlier, each librarian had the option of deciding how to form her school’s team. We met as a group and each librarian chose a task she was willing and able to do. Tasks included: writing rules, writing questions, ordering plaques, taking pictures, calling the media and organizing refreshments.
We then met immediately after the contest to debrief and discuss modifications for next year’s event. It was unanimously decided to make this an annual event, to hold it the week after the Texas Bluebonnet Award voting, and to allow schools to have more than one team. We realized that we could accommodate more contestants and allow even more students to participate in this fabulous event.
The Battle of the Bluebonnets was a fun, painless and rewarding activity that our kids are really looking forward to doing again.