The Beaver County Battle of the Books was held at the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit on May 9, 2017. Over 120 fifth and sixth grade students participated from seven districts across the county, including Ambridge, Beaver, Rochester, Central Valley, Hopewell, Riverside, and South Side Beaver. This event is a collaborative effort organized by school librarians and public librarians from the Beaver County Library System. Thanks to the BCET mini-grant funding, this year’s event featured a visiting author, Mr. Frederic Durbin.
In January, the outreach coordination from Barnes and Noble, Selina Blinn, assisted Nicole Lash in purchasing 40 copies of Durbin’s book The Star Shard at $12.74 a piece. In turn, Mr. Durbin agreed to implement three thirty-minute activities for students during the Battle. These books were distributed to participating schools so all students could read the book prior to the event.
On the day of the Battle, students rotated through three activities: a quiz show competition about the books that they read, a Pictionary game, and Mr. Durbin’s presentation. When the students met with the author, he facilitated a writing workshop on using good sensory details and varied sentence patterns. This kept the students actively engaged as they learned a new skill. The author also welcomed student questions about the writing process and signed copies of his book.
Overall, Frederic Durbin’s visit to the Battle of the Books benefited students in many ways. They were able to learn about and practice a new style of writing and express themselves creatively. They were able to meet with the author of a book that they read to ask about characters, plot, and his general writing process. The BCET is proud to support this worthwhile activity for the 5th and 6th grade students in Beaver County.