Charles City seventh graders get first taste of ‘Quiz Bowl’

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

A half-dozen Charles City seventh-graders took their shot at Quiz Bowl competition earlier this week.

Quiz Bowl is a game or competition in which two teams compete head-to-head to answer questions from general areas of knowledge including history, literature, science, fine arts, current events, sports, popular culture and more.

Think of it as a team version of the classic television game show “Jeopardy!,” only with middle school and high school kids — and they don’t necessarily have to give their answers in the form of a question.

Charles City talented and gifted (TAG) teacher Michelle Grob assembled the team and took them to the Mason City AEA on Monday for the first taste of competition.

“One goal of the TAG department this year is to provide new opportunities for our high-ability students,” Grob said. “Quiz Bowl competitions had not been available to students, so I reached out to see if there was an interest.”

Six seventh-graders — Natalie White, Harper McInroy, Anders Haglund, Hannah DeVore, Katie Prichard and Lance Shivers — felt they were up to the challenge, enough to form two teams of three.

Grob also reached out to some high school students, but didn’t get enough interest this time around. She is hopeful there will be interest next school year.

In Mason City Monday, there were 10 fifth-and-sixth grade teams in competition and 14 seventh-and-eighth grade teams. All the schools played four rounds.

Three more-experienced teams from Newman Catholic dominated play, but the Charles City kids enjoyed some nice success for their first time out, and made the night a learning experience. Grob said that all the students were excited to compete again.

“I thought that Quiz Bowl was a great experience,” said student Natalie White. “If I could I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think that doing this again would open my team up to new possibilities in the future, or even meeting new friends.”

“I really enjoyed Quiz Bowl,” added Hannah DeVore. “Some of the teams were really competitive while others where just kind of there for fun.”

Grob said that Quiz Bowl isn’t just about how much you know.

“Students also have to learn the skills it takes to be competitive in these types of competitions,” she said. “Speed is huge. Do you have to wait for the full question, or do you risk it and buzz in before it is fully read?

“Sometimes you think the question is going in one direction and so you answer, but after you are wrong and it goes to the other team, they finish reading the question and you realize they wanted different information. Most strong teams do not wait for the entire question.”

Like in “Jeopardy!,” it’s important to know when to hit that button and when to hold back, and, like in any team competition, it’s important to know when to trust your teammates and when to go it alone.

“You have to be careful about being trigger happy,” Grob said. “Their adrenaline gets going and they want so badly to buzz in and help the team, that sometimes they buzz in without being fully confident of their answer. Buzzing in too quickly can block one of their own teammates who might know the answer.”

White thought she and her teammates improved as they went along.

“After reflecting between rounds I felt I got better as I went,” said White. “If I were to go again, I’d try my hardest and hopefully improve every round.”

Katie Prichard said their first shot at Quiz Bowl was a great experience for her and for her teammates.

“Quiz Bowl was an amazing opportunity for everyone who went,” Prichard said. “When we arrived there we were all nervous and excited. We had prepared for what to expect and had even gone over some of the possible questions that would be asked. When it was over, we realized how much we had learned and how much fun we had.”

— Editor’s note: Reporter James Grob is the husband of TAG teacher Michelle Grob.