For Immediate Release

Monday, March 18, 2019

Contact: Jessica Sacco
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: [email protected]

Hull Elementary School Students Participate in Battle of the Books Competition

HULL — Fifth grade students at Lillian M. Jacobs Elementary School participated in a Jeopardy style Battle of the Books competition.

Beginning at the end of January, students started working in teams to read and discuss 12 assigned books. (Not every student read every book, but collectively the teams read all books).

Books included classics, like “The Trumpet of the Swan” by E. B. White, as well as new graphic novels, like “Fish Girl” by David Wiesner and Donna Jo Napoli.

Students’ work culminated last week, when teams battled against each other, answering questions about characters, events and settings. The game was projected on a smart board, with questions worth varying amounts of points (100-500) based on difficulty. 

“We were so pleased to see how excited and engaged students were throughout this project,” Principal Christine Cappadona said. “The Jeopardy style game provided a hands on way for students to take ownership and pride in their work, while testing their knowledge on material they’ve read throughout the winter.”

From March 12-13, the three fifth grade classes — each of which had four teams of students with varying reading levels — competed against one another. The three winning teams from each class then battled each other for the final grade champion. 

The three class champions won a pizza party with Peel Pizza in Hingham on March 14. During the final round of the game, the students who were not competing, sat with their teams and participated in a behind the scene version of the activity, silently answering the questions while teachers checked their answers. The winner of the silent competition received free ice cream vouchers from Nona’s in Hingham.

Ultimate champs –Teddy Hennessey, Jeffrey Reede, Maya Thomas, Allison Leary, Joseph DelGallo and Christopher Resnick — earned a bag of books donated by Buttonwood Books and Toys in Cohasset.

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