Coaches+Corner

Thank you for volunteering to be the adult team coach for the Battle of the Books team. The most important role of the coach is to encourage students to read and keep track of their progress. As a group, your team must read all forty books on the list and become familiar with the story lines, as well as the author's names.

Teams consist of four to six students, and may have up to two alternates. Plan to meet with your team a couple of time each month. This can be done during lunchtime, before or after school. Check the Guidelines for Battle of the Books Coaches page for pertinent information that might be helpful in working with your team. Books are available at school as well as at the public libraries. There is a list of the books on the 2017-2018 Book List page found on this Wiki.

The first round of competition takes place in March before Spring Break in your child's school. This round of competition is in written form. Students compete against other teams at their home school. The top two teams advance to the regional round of competition and compete against other Des Moines middle schools. This round of competition occurs after Spring Break. The top teams from the regional competitions advance to the Des Moines Public Schools district finals in April. Refer to the Calendar page for more detailed information on dates and times.

If you have questions, contact us as listed below. The purpose of this program is to encourage our high ability readers to read challenging, high-quality literature. Have fun and thank you again for volunteering to help with this wonderful program! Coordinators:

Jenny Schiltz, G/T Consultant jennifer.schiltz@dmschools.org 515-242-7939

Christie McConathy, G/T Consultant christie.mcconathy@dmschools.org 515-242-7912