Five Lincoln Elementary kids take second at book competition

Text Size: A | A | A

Print this Article Email this Article

Five Abraham Lincoln Elementary students took second place at the Oregon Battle of the Books held Saturday at Chemeketa Community College in Salem.

Fifth-grader Shane Bechtel and fourth-graders Kate Poet, Michala Denn, Ashlynn Hokanson and Sydney Oden (spelling of this name has been corrected here) competed against students from 13 other elementary schools on their comprehension of 16 assigned books at the second annual state championship.

This was Abe Lincoln's first time competing in the event.

"They (the students) were all very excited," said Michelle Wisely, the students' coach and school librarian. "They did a really great job."

At the competition, the students were asked content, comprehension and "which book" questions, Wisely said. Each team had four members and one alternative. The team was given 15 seconds to respond.

In October, the students were assigned books chosen by the Oregon Schools Library Association, which sponsored the competition. Because this year is Oregon's sesquicentennial, the books were either written by an Oregonian or about Oregon. Some of the books assigned included "B for Beaver," "Apples to Oregon," "Bound for Oregon," "Who was Sacagawea?" and "Cryptid Hunters."

"Within three or four months, they had to have all those books read," Wisely said.

Lincoln held its own Battle of the Books competition to determine which students would be part of the team that would compete at the regional level. Thirty-two students participated. On March 7, the Abe Lincoln team then competed in Southern Oregon's regional Battle of the Books at Rogue River Elementary and won before moving on to the state competition.

"I had one student who read every book three or four times," Wisely said.

The students met with Wisely in the library three times a week during the lunch hour to practice answering comprehension questions.

"We would dissect the books — each and every one of them," Wisely said. "The questions just get really, really hard as you get up to the state level."

The students' parents, Abe Lincoln Principal Patti (spelling of this name was corrected here) Frazier and fourth-grade teacher Laurie Danley accompanied the students to Salem to show their support.

Paige Elementary School in Springfield won first place at the competition. Rogue River Elementary was the only other Southern Oregon school competing.

Reach Southern Oregon University intern Teresa Beskow at intern1@mailtribune.com or at 776-4464.

Print this Article Email this Article