March Madness is an annual basketball tournament in the United States. Because basketball is a big topic of interest for most middle school students, March is a great opportunity to kick off a math-themed tournament with a MARCH MATHNESS challenge!
Your class periods will compete against each other by testing their math skills before Spring Break.
And it is SUPER easy to add this to your math lesson during the month of March. Students will practice a variety of math concepts that they have learned throughout the year.
As a math educator, getting students motivated can be challenging, but you’re going to be blown away by the level of engagement you’re about to experience!
Any grade level and math subject areas!
Step One – Get students HYPED UP!! Start telling them that March Mathness is coming. I usually start around mid-March right around Pi Day. You may consider only allowing students who don’t have any missing work to participate. Give them a few weeks to turn in missing work.
Step Two – Prepare the Tournament Bracket. You may consider allowing students to come up with their team names. You can create an entire March Mathness bulletin board for the bracket and maybe even display the prizes students will win. I like to have this prepped before the game even starts. Each team will represent a class period. 4 Class Periods with 8 students (or groups) competing from each.
Step Three – Prep your questions and recording sheets!
March Mathness consists of reviewing math, basketball, and competition among students. I have prepared Google Slides with questions for each round. There are a total of 6 rounds. The first round is the qualifying round.
Shoutout to the 8th Grade Math Teacher for being the original creator of this idea! I modified it for my classroom.
Want to play in groups? Just add group names to the bracket instead of student names! Groups will need to decide who will shoot the basketballs each time!
The Qualifying Round determines the 8 students/groups who will compete!
See the sample bracket in the image below.
Bring out your basketball hoop and basketballs! Just get one of the cheaper over-the-door hoops here or find a cool trash can like I have pictured.
Two students sit an equal distance from a basketball hoop (I have a basketball trash can but you can get an actual hoop that goes over the door!).
Each student will have a dry-erase board + marker, eraser, and small basketball.
Be sure to put a line on the floor (painting tape works well here) as a line from which they must shoot behind. (Is there a special name for that? I’m only pretending to understand basketball!! LOL)
Each student should also have a friend nearby who will go grab the ball if they miss!
Display a question for each student to answer. They write their answer on their board and then show it to you, if correct, they start shooting.
If incorrect, they keep working on the problem.
Both students should keep working towards the correct answer even if their opponent already got it right!
Official Rules: The first student to successfully make a basket wins and moves to the next round!
Tip – Have every student record their answers on the recording sheets! Even if they are not in the tournament. It is a great review!
• For these two rounds, you will need to borrow your students from their other class periods or have them come during lunch!
• Round 5 is your championship! You will determine your winner here!
Here are some prize ideas for the winner!
If you decide to host your own March Mathness tournament and add some basketball excitement to class this year, I would LOVE to hear all about it. Tag me @thesassyteacher on IG!
Read about more March activities here.
Welcome to my Blog!
I started The Sassy Math Teacher in 2020 to help teachers like you increase classroom engagement and teach with confidence!
I also love to share about my life as a teacher including my favorite outfits, home items, gadgets and trips!
