SAMPLE QUESTIONS
• "The Box Car Children": Who is the children's grandfather?
• "Bridge to Terabithia": What gift does Leslie give Jesse?
• "The Cricket in Times Square": What type of food does Tucker go to get Chester?
• "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH": What type of illness does Timothy develop?
• "Number the Stars": What is the Danish Resistance?
• "Sounder": What type of dog is Sounder?
MONROE - Reading is fun - and can be frustrating, as some fourth- and fifth-graders from the Monroe schools discovered Friday during the Race to Read competition.
The competition focused on reading comprehension and retention of 10 classic, award-winning books chosen for the event, including "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH;" "Where the Red Fern Grows;" and "Number the Stars."
The Race to Read program, which is expected to become an annual event, was funded by donations and a grant from the Monroe Excellence in Education (EIE) Foundation, according to Terry Montgomery, district reading specialist.
"The schools already had book clubs in place," Montgomery said. "Race to Read gives it a new twist."
Eleven teams from the three public elementary schools participated. Each team of four to five students were asked 20 questions during each of two rounds. Scores from both rounds were added to determine team placements.
Coming in at first place was Parkside School Team 3 with a total of 34 points for the two rounds.
Parkside Team 3 went into round two with 18 points, just one point ahead of Northside Team 5, and managed to hold onto its narrow lead.
"The questions got more difficult, more challenging in round two," said Kelsi Babler of Parkside Team 3.
Izzy Driver, from Northside Team 4, thought some of the easier questions in round two landed with their teams' challengers.
"A lot of our questions were not really specific to the books," said Rachel Meier, Northside Team 4.
Another member of the team, Cammi Ganshert, agreed.
"But we want to show good sportsmanship in supporting the other teams," she said.
The competition included questions on vocabulary; antonyms and synonyms; and authors.
Pulling into second place was Parkside Team 1, and Northside Team 5 captured the third spot.
Parkside Team 3 took home the traveling trophy, the top three teams got ribbons and all participants received certificates to show for their hard work.
Several copies of each book and study guides were made available for the students to use, and for their schools to keep.
Grayson Funk in Abraham Lincoln Team 1 said her team split up the reading of the books, and enjoyed reading them.
"They just kept on getting more interesting as you read them," she said.
Hunter Rose, Northside Team 1, enjoyed reading "Where the Red Fern Grows," about hunting dogs, and "Number the Stars," about war, the most.
"I really connected with them," he said.
The competition focused on reading comprehension and retention of 10 classic, award-winning books chosen for the event, including "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH;" "Where the Red Fern Grows;" and "Number the Stars."
The Race to Read program, which is expected to become an annual event, was funded by donations and a grant from the Monroe Excellence in Education (EIE) Foundation, according to Terry Montgomery, district reading specialist.
"The schools already had book clubs in place," Montgomery said. "Race to Read gives it a new twist."
Eleven teams from the three public elementary schools participated. Each team of four to five students were asked 20 questions during each of two rounds. Scores from both rounds were added to determine team placements.
Coming in at first place was Parkside School Team 3 with a total of 34 points for the two rounds.
Parkside Team 3 went into round two with 18 points, just one point ahead of Northside Team 5, and managed to hold onto its narrow lead.
"The questions got more difficult, more challenging in round two," said Kelsi Babler of Parkside Team 3.
Izzy Driver, from Northside Team 4, thought some of the easier questions in round two landed with their teams' challengers.
"A lot of our questions were not really specific to the books," said Rachel Meier, Northside Team 4.
Another member of the team, Cammi Ganshert, agreed.
"But we want to show good sportsmanship in supporting the other teams," she said.
The competition included questions on vocabulary; antonyms and synonyms; and authors.
Pulling into second place was Parkside Team 1, and Northside Team 5 captured the third spot.
Parkside Team 3 took home the traveling trophy, the top three teams got ribbons and all participants received certificates to show for their hard work.
Several copies of each book and study guides were made available for the students to use, and for their schools to keep.
Grayson Funk in Abraham Lincoln Team 1 said her team split up the reading of the books, and enjoyed reading them.
"They just kept on getting more interesting as you read them," she said.
Hunter Rose, Northside Team 1, enjoyed reading "Where the Red Fern Grows," about hunting dogs, and "Number the Stars," about war, the most.
"I really connected with them," he said.