Teacher’s Brain

Bring March Madness Fun Into The Classroom

March is officially upon us and that means March Madness has begun! March Madness is a yearly NCAA Division I basketball tournament. It takes place every year from the middle of March to the beginning of April. 

68 college basketball teams play against each other for the chance to win the spot as the year’s National Champion. Needless to say, it’s pretty exciting! 

March Madness pin image

Even for people who aren’t usually basketball fans, this time of year can still be fun. Everyone chooses their teams and predicts who they think will win. It’s also so fun to watch the games with family and friends. 

Given that it is so thrilling for students and teachers alike, I created some resources so that you can easily bring the March Madness fun into the classroom and celebrate while reviewing skills in math, language arts, and STEM.

First up, I wanted to share my March Madness Math and Literacy worksheets. 

March Madness Activities

These basketball-themed worksheets will enhance learning language arts and math skills during March Madness. It includes over 60 worksheets that you can easily print and go. Perfect for using all throughout the tournament!

This resource was designed for kindergarten and first grade students. It even includes some fun games to get your students excited to learn! 

march madness activities

You’ll get answer keys to the activities to make them easy to implement. Check it out here!

The second resource I wanted to share is my March Madness STEM Catapult Challenge! 

march madness stem activities

This hands-on STEM challenge is guaranteed to get your students engaged! Students will build a hoop and catapult to launch their “basketball”. This resource is great for learning about basketball and levers. 

This resource includes 3 days of plans and is perfect for kindergarten, first grade, or second grade students. It comes with 30 printables, 2 posters, print and go plans, answer keys, rubrics, and a journal. Everything you need! You can add your own materials or use the premade version. 

march madness stem activities

Check it out here! 

I hope you love these basketball-themed activities! What’s your favorite part of March Madness? Let me know in the comments!

 

Tips For Implementing Classroom Jobs In Your Class

Let’s talk about classroom jobs! 

If you aren’t familiar with the term, classroom jobs are simple and meaningful tasks that you assign each student in your class that will be their responsibility. Tasks like line leader, trash cleaner, cubby inspector, attendance taker, book monitor, etc. You can think of small tasks that they can complete independently that will also take a load off of your plate. 

Classroom jobs pin image

At first, it may seem to you that students wouldn’t enjoy being given jobs in class and it would be one more thing to make sure they are getting done. On the contrary, historically classroom jobs are a huge hit among students of any elementary grade! 

Classroom jobs give students a sense of responsibility and importance. It also builds a strong sense of community and belonging. It’s so fun to see how proud they get of their work and the relationships they build with each other by working towards a common purpose. 

Here are some tips for implementing classroom jobs in your class

  • Assign classroom jobs in rotation. Inevitably, there will be jobs that are more popular than others. There will be jobs that are coveted and some that don’t get quite as much enthusiasm. To make it easier, rotate out your jobs once a week. This will keep students from getting too jealous or bummed out that they didn’t get the job they wanted. Plus: students will actually look forward to class on Monday because they will find out what their new job is. Score! 
  • Explain why each job is important. To help build the sense of responsibility, make sure students know why their job is so important to the classroom as a whole. No one wants to be stuck doing a job that isn’t meaningful. You can do this by explaining it all at the beginning of the year, or you can hand out notes explaining the importance each week when students are assigned their jobs. 
  • Reward them for a job well done. Remember, we all appreciate being recognized for the hard work we do. When you notice that your student is doing a great job with their classroom job, reward them! You can do this with your normal classroom rewards (like this one) system or you can create a reward system exclusively for your classroom jobs. 
  • Make sure the schedule is visible for students to reference. When you are rotating out weekly, it can be easy for students to forget what their job is. Creating a display will help them keep track of their job. For younger students who aren’t strong readers yet, include pictures in your schedule so that they can figure out what their job is. 

Ready to get started implementing jobs with your students? I have you covered! 

This classroom jobs chart is completely editable so you can customize it to fit your needs. These cards can easily be used on a pocket chart, wall, or on a magnetic board to make displaying and rotating them easy. 

classroom jobs display preview

You’ll get 52 editable PowerPoint slides. They include premade classroom job cards as well as some blank cards so that you can create your own. Make it your own by choosing between cursive or print and black and white or color with pictures. 

The editability of these cards makes it easy to match them to your classroom theme or decor! 

classroom jobs display preview

Pictures included for Line Leader, Greeter, Caboose, Folders, Lunch, Teacher’s Aide, Pet Care, Book Monitor, Sweeper, Kindness Keeper, Door Holder, Schedule Helper, Attendance, Lights, Cubby Inspector, Hand Sanitizer, Backpacks, Music, Meteorologist, Computers, Pencils, Bell Ringer, Recycling, and  Absent Keeper. 

classroom jobs display preview

Do you use classroom jobs? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Host A Book Tasting With A Fun Twist

Have you ever done a book tasting with your students? 

Book tastings are a unique way to learn about different books, genres, and authors. It introduces students to a variety of books so that they can sample them and discover new interests. 

What Is A Book Tasting? 

Generally, you’ll set up “tables” or centers with a menu and you’ll “serve” your students different stacks of books to choose from. After they get some time exploring the books they were served, you rotate them out for a second stack of books. 

You can organize your books by genres, topics, authors, styles, etc. It is so fun to see the students branch out and check out books they wouldn’t normally look twice at. I have found this to be a great way to encourage a love of reading in my students. Even the students who claim not to enjoy reading get engaged in book tastings! 

This reading activity would be a great addition to your Read Across America Day celebrations! I love that it can be done with students no matter their age. So literally any teacher can host a book tasting. 

Take Your Book Tasting To The Next Level

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good book tasting. But sometimes, you just want to add a little extra something to get students really excited about reading. 

Cue escape rooms! 

Escape rooms are all the rage because they are so engaging for students. They make such a big impact on students that they often remember doing these activities long after they leave your classroom. How cool is that? 

Given my love of book tastings and escape rooms, I had to create a resource that is the best of both worlds. 

I created this Book Tasting Escape Room activity so that you can add it into your lessons too!

book tasting preview

This resource includes step-by-step instructions that guarantee student engagement while they learn how to work as a team and help the store owner discover new book genres and escape the room with a book tasting! 

Sounds fun, right? 

book tasting preview

With just a little prep, this activity will have your students teaming up to break into the box to escape the room. The best part? You can use any books you want to with this activity!

You’ll get everything you need including directions, menus, place settings, paper keys, signs, help cards, homework passes and bookmarks, banner pennants, and more! 

book tasting preview

Check it out here!

Have you ever hosting a book tasting for your students? Let me know in the comments!

Book Tasting Escape Room pin image