Battle of the Books brings sport reading to Bethel

March madness took center court March 27 without the ball, net or backboard – unless they were in chapter seven.

Bethel Elementary School brought 17 teams and 68 students into the gym for the school’s first Battle of the Books. There were rosters. There were uniforms. There were No. 1s. Not No. 1 seeds, but three fourth-graders and a fifth-grader who picked the No. 1 for their moniker. Their region included Book Ballers, Chinchilla Chapters, Rad Retro Readers and The Book Monsters.

Bethel was the only place around where fans could watch The Demigods take on The Tacos.

“I love that it’s an academic activity,” said Principal Kim Ramsey. “They don’t realize that academics can be a competition, and can be fun.”

So much fun the school live streamed the event to each classroom. Non-participants even filed into the gym to watch.

Parent Julie List had two middle-schoolers last year, when Oakridge Middle School held a similar event. She wanted to see it at Bethel where her youngest attends. She and the school partnered to get the curriculum and books. When 35 percent of the school signed up to compete, they had to enlist the York County Library system.

Battle of the Books can operate in a relay, quick fire or “Family Feud”-style format. List chose all three.

“They had to read 10 books and memorize the title and author,” she said. “The questions are all in the form of, what book?”

There were 20 adult volunteers reading off 24 questions per station, per round. Students competed from 8:30 a.m. to noon, minus a snack break. There were no Cinderella nor Davis vs. Goliath matchups. Maybe next year.

Students got to pick their own teams. Posters went up. An iMovie trailer promoted the event. The district held similar events years ago and Oakridge has more recently, but List would like to see more on the elementary side.

“And then we compete in a grand battle throughout the district,” she said. “I’m working on that.”

There were winners Friday, but the idea was to have fun and promote time in a book. Some readers don’t need coaxing to find a quiet corner to read. But for those who do, the hope was the relay running and popping to their feet when students had an answer would appeal to a different audience.

Ramsey wanted students to see a book could be as fun as play, and let them get on their feet to do it.

“They need to move,” she said.

This story was originally published March 27, 2015 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Battle of the Books brings sport reading to Bethel."