Making learning relevant to students (NCTCS 3d) has always been necessary but for students in the 21st century it is extremely important. 21st century learners are connected to the world around them, so we should make their learning connect to the world.
This time of year, as the weather warms up, it can be hard to draw students in and keep them focused on schoolwork. One thing that really grabs my attention, and has always grabbed my attention, at this time of year is March Madness. March Madness is kind of like a month-long holiday in my house and something that I remember discussing with friends and teachers every year from about the time I was in 5th grade. I know some students may not be interested in basketball or in March Madness, but David Lamers, a 6th grade teacher from Wisconsin, has created a basketball-themed unit that I think would draw any student in and possibly even make students a fan of March Madness. If learning had of been associated with March Madness when I was in 5th or 6th grade I would have been so excited to go to school each day and to find out what we would learn or do next!
Lamers says that he uses "the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament to liven up the cold stretch between the winter and spring breaks. It's simply amazing what a plastic basketball hoop and a little creativity can do to spark interest in learning." After Selection Sunday (when the teams are picked and divided into regions of the bracket) Lamers has his students randomly draw a team to follow throughout the tournament. Students may end up with a big name team that is predicted to make it to one of the final rounds of the tournament or a team that is expected to fall in the first round. Either way they will stick with this team for the duration of the unit.
Mr. Lamers manages to tie in ELA (with researching, writing letters to the team, writing poetry, and reading sports biographies and autobiographies), Math (with statistics, graphs, spreadsheets, and charts), and Social Studies (with map skills).
The results? Mr. Lamers says that "During a part of the school year in which it's typically difficult to get students to focus, [he] got some of the year's best work from [his] class. The excitement generated from a topic for which they had a true passion was translated into outstanding classroom results."
Please check out Mr. Lamers article (the link below). His ideas are truly outstanding and I hope to be able to use them in my future classroom one day.
https://www.essentiallearningproducts.com/hooping-it-david-lamers
That is very cool. Thanks for sharing Leslea! I think it is great and important to be able as a teacher to create an environment that is interesting to students as well as productive with the little bit of time we actually have to teach during the day. This guy seems to have created a great opportunity to enrich his student's learning by merging their interest in B.Ball and satisfying the standards. Great find Leslea!
ReplyDeleteLeslea,
ReplyDeleteI loved this post and I think it is an awesome idea that this teacher made a March Madness themed unit!! I think it is absolutely necessary that the students understand how what they are learning is relevant to them. I love how this is a fun, creative way to get students involved and excited about learning. It is the perfect way to bridge the gap of the students' interest to the content being taught. I could definitely see myself using an idea like this in my future classroom!!!
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteI like that you can tie your two passions together (education and sports). This week I found that your enthusiasm can determine how students take in your instruction. I like your perspective!
Leslea,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I really like how you included March Madness into education. This is a great example of differentiation, in a way. You can include this for students who are really into sports by making it relevant and with something they are interested in. I could totally see you doing this in your classroom someday!