Top 5 Classroom Activities for the Madness of March Basketball!

It's that time of year when students, and teachers get excited for the college basketball tournament. We have our Top 5 ideas for you to incorporate basketball into your classroom.

1. Have a Shoot Out
Yes, that's right. Students will have a shoot out in the classroom! Have each student crumple a piece of paper into a ball. Then, have a garbage can placed about five feet away. Have students compete against each other. You could even make a bracket for this! Then when are down to the final four, make it a big deal and announce their names like an announcer would do at a game. When the winner is found, crown him/her the shoot out champ!

2. Cinderella Story
Every year in the tournament, there is a team that wasn't expected to make it. Or there are teams that beat a higher seed in the first few rounds. Have your students think of other Cinderella stories where people overcome obstacles. This may involve some research using trusted websites. When the students have gathered their information, have them write a "Cinderella Story" about overcoming the obstacle.

3. Geography
For a fun activity, you could give the students the lists of the teams in the tournament. Then, with a blank United States map, they would have to find the city and state of each team. You would need to use a website that would have this information such as: http://www.ncaa.com/ and search for the school in the search bar. This would be a great way for the students to practice their geography skills!

4. Buzzer Beaters
Students love to compete against the clock. Have a timer or some sort of buzzer in your classroom. Then come up with some fun activities to see if students can do them in the allotted time. An example could be, sharpen 5 pencils in a minute, or see how many times they can write "Buzzer Beater" on their papers in a minute. Fun, and exciting for the students.

5. Teamwork
Playing a team sport like basketball requires working together and complimenting each other's talents. Take some time during a day this week, and stop what you are teaching. Have a beach ball on hand that is full of air and ready to go. Divide your class into teams of 3-4. Then get a stopwatch and time how long each group can keep the ball up in the air without hitting the ground or any other object. Have a timer keep track on the board. Then do a second round to see if the team can improve their time. Your class will love it!

We hope you enjoyed our Top 5 list. For other printable activities that you could use that are classroom ready for a small fee, click here.