The Fair Grove Middle School Literature Bowl team is preparing for an upcoming competition in April by reading several books.
The Literature Bowl Leader, Chanda Lemon, stated, “The students will read 10 books from now until the time of the book battle in April.” These books will consist of Maniac Magee, Out of My Mind, I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic 1912 Graphic Novel, Out of the Dust, Stone Fox, James & the Giant Peach, The One & Only Ivan, The Lightning Thief, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, and The Double Cross.
Mrs. Lemon said, “I feel that Lit Bowl gives students a chance to build confidence and to see what a buzzer competition entails.” If middle school students get involved with Literature Bowl and like the feeling of buzzer competitions, they could have more interest in High School Scholar Bowl.
The Southern Baptist University Bearcat Book Battle has been a notable event since April of 2019. The event is hosted by the Southwest Baptist University’s Division of Education in the Goodson Student Union and Gott Education Building on the Bolivar campus. All of the eight teams are required to read 10 books in the categories of historical fiction, realistic fiction, fantasy, and science fiction or dystopian.
According to Mrs. Lemon, the team may consist of up to 12 students and they will play four rounds with toss up questions and bonus questions. The schools that participate include Bolivar Area Homeschool, Fair Grove, Halfway, Humansville, Marion C. Early (Morrisville), Polk County Christian School, Weaubleau and Wheatland.
One of the Fair Grove participants is excited for one book especially. Amalia Schwab (5), said, “I am most excited to read Out of the Dust, because it’s meant to be read like a journal, and not like a normal book.”
“I am excited to go in the future, because I get to see my friends, and read a lot of the books that I wouldn’t read otherwise,” Schwab stated. This club’s goal is to get children involved in reading books that they wouldn’t be required to read for academic reasons.
Mrs. Lemon said, “Many students will go on to play on the Middle School Scholar Bowl Team during their 7th & 8th grade years.” She would like to see what these kids’ futures are in the Literature Bowl field.
The Literature Bowl practice meetings in October consisted of the Thursdays of the 19th and 26th. All practices take place in the Fair Grove High School library.
