"I don't even like basketball," jeers one student.
"Nobody in my family watches basketball!" another chimes in, as if I had just called for an opinion poll.
"Why Mr. Kelly????? WHY?!" the cries begin to catch hold around the room, like pockets of piranha ready to attack.
This morning, being the day after the day after selection day for the NCAA tournament, was a perfect time to hand out the brackets to ALL of my students (despite the ones that shot me the 'no thanks, I'll pass' look).
"Boys and Girls!" I gave it my best 'morning, excited to be at school voice.' "Today we're going to fill out our March Madness brackets," I said this with a grin. I always have smile around this time of year - not really sure if it's because I get to watch a lot of basketball, the weather finally takes a turn for the warmer (which means its time to get the bike out), or if it's because St. Patrick's Day has arrived (and it's Sam's birthday). In either case,...March is Good!
"YES!!" comes a voice from the back of the room. A boy who not only brought his own bracket from home, but a magazine detailing the teams.
As I explained the 'how to' part of the bracket, the students grew more interested (especially when I mentioned that the winner of the tournament would be given a GIANT BAR OF CHOCOLATE). Along with the bracketeering, comes the math (probability and statistics). What better way to wrap up our unit of percents, probability, and stats than to put it to the test in a real life application. DISCLAIMER: WE WILL NOT BE WATCHING THE GAMES IN CLASS FOR ENJOYMENT! IT WILL BE PURELY FOR THE MATHEMATICAL CALCULATIONS THAT WILL SOMEDAY PROPEL THE STUDENTS TO HEIGHTS OF GREATNESS.
Room 110: Once again moving every child everyday from good to great through the sheer enjoyment of good collegiate competition.
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6 comments:
And I thought our school was the only one who did this! :-) Happy Sring Dave! :-)
Love,
Shanna
PS: Gold!
Dave:
You've always got an angle ... I love it!
b.
Silver ... I was at the eye Dr., and Mrs. Helsley called me. Shanna, congrats to you.
BTW, how did Sam enjoy Mr. Petzold's Singing for his b-day?
I remember Doing That...Another Reason I try to forget 4th Grade!!
Shanna: What? Your school does it too? NO WAY! Let's have a contest between the two classes. We'll put our winning percent average against a group of high schoolers any day of the week - and sometimes on weekends. The Michigan to Minnesota Challenge 08 is ON!!!
Phill w/2 l's: It's impossible to forget 4th grade. It's like a bad movie,...you just keep waking up in the middle of the night screaming!
By the way,... I can print you a bracket if you need one.
B: My life revolves around angles. Why just the other day I did a complete 360 (which is probably why I never get very far).
Dave, your creativity of finding a way to watch March Madness never ceases to amaze us...it is one of the many reasons that we admire you!
:) Your Edwardsburg pals
Love it!!!
Annette
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