Time Out for March Madness

By Mr. Freeley's Class

If you can’t beat’em, join’em! During the month of March why not make the most of our students’ interest in sports, specifically the NCAA tournaments with cross-curricular lessons and activities. This year, the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness will start on March 17th and end in Detroit, Michigan at Ford Field on April 6th. For much of that time, the hearts, minds, and eyes of students, parents, and teachers around this country will be focused on the court. So why not take advantage of student interest in the tournaments by adapting classroom activities to the action taking place on the hardwood. Believe it or not, basketball can be incorporated into almost every area of the curriculum. It all starts out with a little geography. Students randomly select one of the 64 teams that made the tournament and then locate that university on a map of the United States. Then they will research the relationship of the team’s name and mascot to the history and geography of the college. After reviewing the parts of a formal business letter students will write to their university congratulating them on their successful season. They will also share a little about themselves, the research they discovered on the Internet about the school, what they’re learning about in ELA and Social Studies and wish them luck in the tournament. Students will also explore various websites learning more about this wonderful game that James Naismith invented in a gymnasium in Massachusetts. So have fun with your brackets and dribble on by Cottage Lane to check out the action!

Amy, Francesca, Heyli and Graham cheered on their teams to the Final Four!