M E T H O D S — c o n t i n u e d
8. Involve parents and the community.
9. Determine regulations and scoring.
10. Prepare teams for the event.
11. Stage the quiz competition.
12. Present awards.
1. Decide which department will
take leadership in sponsoring
the activities.
Traditionally, activities dealing with history and
current events have been left to Social Studies
teachers; however, with the emphasis on across-the-
curriculum learning, any department can take the
lead in sponsoring a quiz bowl. In many ways, the
English department may be in the best position to
lead the activity—either alone or in cooperation
with other faculty members. Within the English
department one usually finds the debate team,
creative writing courses, and speech classes.
Anthologies now contain the writings of a wider
variety of multicultural artists dealing with current
issues. There is also a renewed emphasis on essays
that tie nicely to current events. These are the basis
for discussion that address the progress of humanity.
What better point of departure for affecting
attitudes and behavior in our youth? What better
preparation for critical thinking?
2. Get the support/approval of
your administration.
Before introducing the idea to students, be sure
to get the blessing of school administrators (or
district administrators if you plan an inter-school
competition). At Huntsville High School, we found
overwhelming support—from both students and
faculty—for the competition.
3. Choose a format.
Competitions can involve any number of students
depending on the resources, amount of time, and
facilities available for your competition. The
method is the same for each type of competition,
but the amount of time and resources needed is
proportional to the number of students involved.
You may consider a student competition which
takes place in several classrooms independently,
or you can organize an inter-school competition
with regional or district schools. Inter-school
competitions encourage school pride and build
excellence. Participating schools often reexamine
their curriculums to ensure that their students are
competitive. Some schools even have pep rallies
before important competitions. In Alabama, mock
election participants organized an inter-school
“Family Feud” competition with election questions.
Students loved it and traveled miles on school buses
to cheer on the families from their own schools!
Of course, more involved formats require a
significant time commitment from participants.
Students, teachers, parents, community members,
and other participants should be willing to volunteer
time to the competition on weeknights or over a
weekend. If students and volunteers do not offer
their nights and weekends, you will have to choose
a format that can be used in the classroom.
At Huntsville High School we have been actively
involved in quiz bowls for the past six years and our
brightest students are revered as much as our school
athletes. Because our students are so interested in
this type of competition we began our own in-
school competition called “Battle of the Brains.”
This is a schoolwide competition of four-member
teams that takes place one Saturday each year. One
of the many highlights of each event is a compe-
tition between the winning team and a team of
faculty members.
