At Flat Rock, we are excited about participating in Battle of the Books! This is a voluntary reading incentive program for 4th-5th grade students to encourage reading good books while having fun competing with peers. Students form 3-person teams and each person is responsible for reading 3-5 books on their grade-level book list. Students read the books between August-February. The battle competition will take place in February. Voting on students' favorite book will take place during this time when the Anderson County Elections Office brings their official voting machines to our school.  All K4- 3rd grade students who have read at least 8 picture books, and 4th - 5th grade students who have read at least 3 chapter books, will be able to vote (regardless of whether they compete in the Battle of the Books competition). 

A typical "Battle" is a tournament or game, like Jeopardy, in which students' teams earn points by answering questions about the books on the book lists. Teams are assigned competition rounds with brackets, similar to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. Grade level teams will compete against each other, and then winners from these brackets will compete against one another. The two teams with the most points will participate in the "Grand Battle," with the other teams as their audience.

The ten battle books for 4th-5th graders during the 2024-25 school year are listed here.

The students gain knowledge and enjoyment from reading good books, sharing them with friends, parents and teachers, plus a fun day of playing in the "Battle."