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[*Printable Bracket via SB Nation] As March Madness sets upon us, I have decided to let the students that are interested get a taste of the madness for themselves. Throughout the year, various students have asked if they could be the teacher for a day. They’ve either asked because they think I’m boring, or they think they can do a better job than I can;) Well, today is their chance. However, like in life, nothing is given, they must earn this via our March Madness Bracket Challenge. I’ve been scavenging the internet for a Language Arts lesson that connects the NCAA Tournament into the classroom, but I’ve had no luck. I did find one, but it was for math. I did find a few writing prompts that I will use for bell work. They can be viewed [here]. If anybody has one for Language Arts, please send it my way. I digress, participation will be optional. When I made the announcement, I had a medium level of interest. I think the whole idea of taking over the class is what really piqued their interest. I always welcome competition in my classroom. The winner will get to be the teacher on a to be determined half-day in April during their specific class. The winner will sit down with the teacher (me), and we will go over how to make a lesson plan with an objective for the class to reach by the end of the class period. This will not be a free for all;) The winners will be expected to teach the class something, and they will receive as much guidance as they need…
Quick Rules:
- Participation is optional and not required.
- When brackets are released on 3/17/2013, Mr. Sye will have brackets available the next day – 3/18.
- There will be absolutely no money involved!
- All brackets will be due 3/21 (start of tourney).
- Participants will have to submit their brackets to Mr. Sye, and he will make a xerox copy for participant to keep track of their bracket.
- Each round is worth the following: 1st Round Play-in Game (1pt), 2nd/3rd Round (2pts), Sweet 16 Games (3pts), Elite 8 Games (4pts), Final Four Games (5pts), Championship Game Winner (6pts).
- Students can receive extra credit in the Final Four Round by watching games and using the 5W’s to summarize ((7.SL.1) & (7.SL.5) common core speaking/listening standards).
- Winner will get to be the teacher on a tbd half-day during their specific class. The winner will sit down with the teacher (me), and we will go over how to make a lesson plan with an objective for the class to get to. This will not be a free for all;) The winners will be expected to teach the class something, and they will receive as much guidance as they need.
*this activity is for fun ONLY
I will be making the announcement during classes. Any student wishing to be the teacher for a day, half a class period, can participate in this.
@SyeWorks 
Sounds like a fun challenge!
I’m hoping it will be…
I am sure it will be especially when the actual March Madness starts.
Nothing NCAA really except perhaps a research activity into what it takes to be a player from http://www.ihoops.com/ which is the NBA and NCAA Youth Basketball Organization. Everything the kids would need to research is on there.
I’m not sure what kind of activities you were looking for but I have a Coach Carter http://www.sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/Coach-Carter-info-sheet-6184281/ info sheet and a lesson which might work if you changed Remember the Titans to Coach Carter http://www.sharemylesson.com/teaching-resource/Strange-Fruit-Remember-the-Titans-6082110/
Also, you could try:
Using informational text from the newspapers and sports channels to compare reporting in different texts, comparing text to a different media, and judging reasoning and the relevance of the evidence used (RIT.7, RIT.8, and RIT.9).
*just happen to have them in my head from something I was just doing
Hoops- W. Myers has a good book about a teen boy who isn’t sure what to do. The story centers around basketball so you could address the Lit standards for CC. You could do a review, maybe something like this http://www.teenink.com/reviews/book_reviews/article/33130/Hoops-by-Walter-Dean-Myers/ and tie literature to informational text or go a step further and create a research/biography activity where students tell the stories of their favorite, or randomly selected, players.
Bronx Masquerade- several of the poetry slam characters play basketball, some well and some badly so it comes up. The chapters are short so you could pick and choose. You could tie basketball in to poetry with poetry slams about the game from the night before or on a specific player or position.
Pick-Up Game: A Full Day of Full Court- all about the Cage in NYC and the games that go on in a day and as an anthology you could pick and choose. They could do narrative writing as they imagine themselves playing or watching someone they know play.
Thank you for the info. I think I will look into the idea about informational text…
This is really awesome! My kids would love something like this in their english class.
I personally love basketball, and wish I had a teacher like you while I was in school. Keep up the good posts!
Thank you for the kind words. I try to keep it interesting in my class…
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