Middle School Battle of the Books
A fun classroom grant that encourages students to read!
Could you create and perform a rap battle between two characters from a list of books that you read in the last year? How many books have your read in the last year? On Monday, May 12th, 120 students from the five Elkhorn middle schools gathered at the Educational Service Unit #3 for the Elkhorn Middle School Battle of the Books Competition after months of preparation.
The Middle School Battle of the Books is one of the 68 classroom grants that were awarded during the 2024-2025 school year. This grant helped to purchase books for the students competing in Battle of the Books; plus, the books supported middle school independent reading goals, book clubs, and school-wide reading competitions.
The Foundation’s Classroom Grant Program benefits students at all grade levels, and each year teacher requests for grants continue to grow. For the 2025-2026 school year, the Foundation approved 76 classroom grants, totaling $158,800! A few exciting grants for next school year include Geriatric Impairment Kits at all three high schools, books for the Birth-to-3 Program, and One School One Book at Iron Bluff Elementary, opening this fall!
Throughout the year, each student participating in Battle of the Books is required to read at least three books from the pre-selected list. According to Rachel Jussel, media specialist at Elkhorn Grandview Middle School, “the idea is that each team would read all of the books on the list with some kids overlapping certain titles.”
At the beginning of the competition, the challenges were presented to the 25 competing teams. While many students competed in the elementary Battle of the Books, the middle school competition is very different. Rachel said, “The main difference between the elementary Battle of the Books and middle school battle is the competition type. Instead of a quiz-based competition, students have the day to work on up to 8 tasks ranging in content from technology, performance, or writing.”
Each challenge has suggested books, recommendations for time and resources, completion requirements, and points possible. The points possible depend on the difficulty of the task. “Students are able to divide and conquer on the tasks they wish to complete, and they have agency over how many points they earn based on the tasks they choose,” Rachel said. “They may not be able to complete every task (time is definitely limited), but they get to choose the projects that they feel would best represent their knowledge on the topic, and then they present their project to judges.”
The first-place winning teams for each category received a trophy, and teams in 2nd and 3rd place received medals. All the remaining teams received ribbons.
Quinn Benjamin, a seventh grader at Elkhorn Grandview Middle School, participated in Battle of the Books in fourth and fifth grade at Manchester Elementary but decided not to participate in sixth grade even though she read all the books for the competition. However, she participated this year because “I just had to do it again because I really liked it and I missed doing it,” Quinn said.
It’s easy to see why Quinn missed competing with her friends because as you entered the room, it was abuzz with excitement, laughter, and middle school shenanigans as the teams frantically worked together to complete the tasks. “I like being with all of my friends and working with books because a lot of my friends like to read,” Quinn said. “I like working together.”
Kolleen Benjamin, Quinn’s mom, reflects that Quinn has always been a reader, but she has “seen Quinn’s love for reading grow even greater” after joining the Middle School Battle of the Books. “It has helped her form closer friendships and aided in her finding a community of friends who are book lovers as well,” Kolleen said. “I see them making book recommendations to each other and get excited when a new book release comes out.”
The books for the competition are the 2024-2025 Nebraska Golden Sower 6th-8th grade nominees. The 2024-2025 nominees were Ain’t Burned all the Bright by Jason Reynolds, Attack of the Black Rectangles by A. S. King, Dear Mothman by Robin Gow, I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, Lasagna Means I Love You by Karen O’Shaughnessy, Lines of Courage by Jennifer Nielsen, Miss Quinces by Kat Fajardo, Nic Black and the Remarkables by Angie Thomas, Two Degrees by Alan Gratz, and What Happened to Rachel Riley? by Claire Swinarski.
Kolleen adds, “The Golden Sower books used in middle school BOTB introduces them to books they might not have read otherwise.”
Quinn’s favorite book she read for the competition was Dear Mothman. “It was about this boy whose best friend died in a car crash and he was trying to write to this fictional character, Mothman, about him working through his trauma,” she said. Ultimately, Quinn likes to read “because there’s so many different stories and I like to be transported into the setting of the story and imagine I’m with the characters.”
The middle school media specialists are making a conscious effort to encourage and incentivize reading for enjoyment. The media specialists were awarded classroom grants for the Middle School Battle of the Books and Sora, a platform that provides students with access to audiobooks and ebooks. Additionally, this year the Foundation increased the funds provided for reading incentive programs at the middle schools and high schools. The middle school media specialists used those funds in 2024-2025 to provide prizes during the second quarter, cookies & cocoa, and the fourth quarter, a Kona Ice truck, for students who complete a certain amount of prompts on a reading choice board.
As a parent, Kolleen loves that “kids are supported in various ways that appeal to their unique learning style. I’m especially impressed at the middle school level all the areas of opportunity students have to explore their interests. It’s important for parents to know the ways their students receive support from the Foundation and school district at every level.”
Elkhorn Ridge Middle School Battle of the Books participants posing with their ribbons and medals
