Zeb Vance Elementary School students who competed in the Battle of the Books this year
Zeb Vance Elementary School Principal Anne Garrison introduced media specialist Jeanette Johnson and Academically & Intellectually Gifted (AIG) teacher Lisa Webster to the Vance County Board of Education on Monday evening as teachers who “go above and beyond” their duties.
Garrison was referring to Zeb Vance’s second Battle of the Books, a competition which encourages students to engage in extra-curricular reading.
Johnson told board members that the program began this year with 32 students in the fourth and fifth grades. The students were tasked to read ten books during after-school stays on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays until 5:00 p.m.
Not only were books read, but they were also listened to in audio format. Students saw three film versions of the books they read (Stuart Little, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, and the live-action Charlotte’s Web) in order to see the differences between the versions of the stories.
Johnson told members that Zeb Vance teacher’s assistants and other faculty members helped in the afternoons.
Webster noted that discussions of the books had been held as well.
Students who participated in the program and presented to the board were Devonte Bumpers, Ben Johnson, Cedric Lyons, Aaron Moody, Brittany Patterson, and Angel White.
To demonstrate how the Battle of the Books is conducted, Johnson asked the students questions about the books that they had read. The students stepped forward and responded with the books’ titles and authors in answer to their teacher’s questions.
Johnson said that funding was an issue in both the number of books her children could read and for expanding the program to other Vance County schools. She told members that she was planning to have her students read nine books next year.
The reading list for the North Carolina Battle of the Books is twelve titles.
The media specialist said that she wanted the program to appeal to all students at all reading levels, not just to AIG students and girls.
Vance County Board of Education Chair Gloria White told the students and the teachers that they have done “a great job”. She said that she hoped funds could be obtained for others to participate.