Battle of the Books Round 2 - April 11/2025

RVS students test literary knowledge at Battle of the Books

Elementary and middle school students in Rocky View Schools (RVS) will go head-to-head this spring as they test their knowledge of several books during the division’s signature literacy event, Battle of the Books.

On April 11, teams of elementary school students will participate in a virtual event using an online platform. Following that, on May 7, middle school students will compete in an in-person Battle of the Books at RVS’ Education Centre in Airdrie. This year marks the eighth iteration of the middle school event and the fifth elementary battle.

“Battle of the Books is a great event that helps advance students’ literacy skills while having fun with their reading,” said Superintendent of Schools, Greg Luterbach. “This annual event builds a culture of reading both within our schools and division-wide, as students connect with other readers across our many communities.”

This year’s elementary battle features 12 teams from Airdrie, Cochrane, Chestermere, Springbank and rural Rocky View County. Ten middle schools from Airdrie, Cochrane and Chestermere have teams preparing for the event in May.

During the battle of books, participating schools form teams of up to six participants in a mix of grades – Grades 3-5 for elementary schools and Grades 5-8 for middle schools. To prepare for the event, students read a selection of books in a range of genres, reading levels and media formats including fiction, nonfiction, picture books, graphic novels, audiobooks and ebooks. This encourages students to adventure beyond their reading comfort zone, as they pick up books they might not normally choose for themselves.

At the battles, teams are quizzed to display their knowledge of the books they read. The format for Battle of the Books is different for each age group. During the virtual elementary event, teams will face-off using an online trivia platform that awards points to teams for both answering correctly and with speed. After three rounds of true/false and multiple-choice comprehension questions, the team with the most points is named the winner.

During the in-person event, middle school teams will battle one-on-one, each competing in three matchups. Teams take turns answering questions for points, but if they are unable to correctly answer, the opposing school can earn points by providing the correct answer. The students will be asked both “in the book…” and “in which book…” questions and must provide both the author and the title to earn points. The top three teams will be determined based on the points they accumulate.

“One of the great things about Battle of the Books is that it provides students an opportunity to participate in a team-based activity that is not a sport,” said teacher and Battle of the Books Committee Chair, Kerry Kindermann. “By showing students that reading can be associated with fun, Battle of the Books also helps create life-long readers who find joy in reading. When kids find joy in reading, they will continue to do it for the rest of their lives.”

In addition to winning funds from RVS to purchase books for their learning commons, the winning teams also receive an athletics-style banner that they proudly display in their schools.