Time Out for March Madness and Mayhem

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! Make the most of your students' interest in the NCAA basketball tournaments with these cross-curricular lessons and activities. Included: Additional online resources about basketball.

This year, the Men's NCAA Basketball Tournament, better known as March Madness, starts March 17 and ends in Detroit on April 6. March Mayhem, the Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament, begins March 21 and will end in St. Louis on April 7. For most of that time, the eyes and minds of students and parents (and teachers!) across the country are more likely to be focused on the court than on the curriculum.

For a teacher, particularly a middle school or high school teacher, those two weeks can seem like the longest weeks of the year. They don't have to be a total academic loss, however. You can take advantage of student interest in the tournaments by adapting your classroom activities to the activity taking place on the basketball court. Basketball can be incorporated into almost every area of the curriculum -- from physics to poetry, from math to music!

March Madness
Scavenger Hunt

Students build comprehension skills as they learn about basketball history. Printable student work sheet included.

This week, Education World offers lessons to help you manage the mayhem and madness dribbling into your classroom! A brief description of each activity appears below. Click any headline for a complete teaching resource.

See additional lesson plan resources at the end of this article.

Figure the Winner
Students use math to predict the winners of the NCAA basketball tournaments. (Grade 9-12)

Basketball for Better Verse
Students write poems about basketball. (Grade 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

The Team at Home
Students locate an NCAA basketball tournament team on a map, research the relationship of the team's name and mascot to the location of the college, and cheer the team to victory! (Grade 6-8, 9-12)

You've Got Game!
Students create new games that conform to specific, pre-set conditions. (Grade 3-5, 6-8, 9-12)

Basketball Notes
Students add the values of musical notes to win a chance to shoot a basketball. (Grade 3-5, 6-8)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

NCAA Basketball's Chalkboard Lesson Plans
The NCAA offers a free activity packet for teachers of grades K through 6. The packet includes basketball-related activities in such core subject areas as math, science, geography, and language arts. Note: Many lessons reference printable pages and other resources; those are available by clicking the "Download PDF" link for each of the specific grade-level pairings.

NCAA Basketball
The NCAA Basketball site offers articles, schedules, scores, and other resources about both the men's and women's teams.

Basketball Explorations
This ThinkQuest site provides an introduction to the game of basketball and demonstrates how the sport relates to such subjects as math, physics, and art.

PE Central
This site provides physical education lesson plans, including several basketball-related lessons.

Basketball
Younger students learn how to mathematically calculate field-goal and free-throw percentages.

Originally published 03/19/2001
Last updated 02/20/2009