LUMBERTON — After two days of competition between 13 teams of second- and third-graders from Robeson County public schools, Prospect Elementary School came out on top in this year’s annual Battle of the Books competition.
The second place winning team on Thursday was Tanglewood Elementary and third place went to East Robeson, which had won the last two years.
The Public Schools of Robeson County is the only county school system in the state that holds a Battle of the Books competition for students in the second and third grades
“This competition really excites students to read,” said Janet Scott, one of the Prospect team’s three coaches. “We started out with 26 students wanting to participate on the team so we had to hold elimination rounds to cut the number to 12, the number of members a team can have.”
Members of Prospect’s team included Christopher Conner Chavis; Gavin Deese; Donnie Dial; Bladen Hammonds; Camden Hunt; Naomi Lenz; Caroline Locklear; Liliana Locklear; Zavier Lowry; Natalya Mitchell; and Rylan Oxendine. A reporter was unable to grab any of the children for a comment.
The Battle of the Books, held both days at Lumberton Junior High School, is a state program aimed at encouraging all students at the elementary and middle grade school levels to read. According to educators, the competition improves reading skills, helps students become more mature in their choices of reading materials, and helps students acquire a broader base of knowledge.
This year’s competition required the second- and third-grade students to read 15 books and be ready to identify authors and answer questions about each book’s content. Books were selected by the county’s school library coordinators.
The Public Schools of Robeson County started with the competition for higher grade levels in 1989 as a means of encouraging students to read. The second- and third-grade competition began within the past decade.
“This is definitely a positive way to promote literacy,” schools Superintendent Johnny Hunt said. “I had a grandparent tell me today that the Battle of the Books has encouraged their grandchild to read more books, even in the summer.”
Hunt said he enjoys attending all of the Battle of the Books competitions.
“… Especially watching these younger students,” he said. “It’s just like a game show.”
Although they lost a tie-breaking round for second place against the team from Tanglewood, members of the East Robeson team were happy with their performance and enjoyed participating in the competition.
“This is fun,” said Jodie Coble. “I used to hate reading, but now I like it. I’ve found that reading is fun and takes hard work and determination.”
Kali Britt was on the East Robeson team for a second year.
“I enjoyed coming back, reading more chapter books and getting on stage and competing with the other teams,” she said.
Niasia Cromartie didn’t make the team last year.
“Last year I didn’t make the team because I didn’t study hard enough,” she said. “But this year I made the team because I studied hard."
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