March Madness!

Anyone who knows me knows that I won't be confused for Sporty Spice any time soon. I've never really been a big fan of playing, watching or talking about sports. I spent 4 years marching in the high school band and I learned how to pretend to be excited and sad at all the right moments by watching the crowd instead of the players! So when my friend Adrianne Meldrum from Kids CogWorks offered to guest post about sporting up some March lessons I was super excited because goodness knows y'all weren't going to get that from me!  Enjoy, my friends!

In my home, I am surrounded by the male species. There is my husband and then my three sons. As you can imagine, March around here really is "Madness". Everyone in the house enjoys basketball (any sport) except for me. I can't wait for summer to come when sports simmer down a little. But as you know, there is always something! Sports can keep boys attention longer than most things. How can you use this to your advantage with students? I say, step out of your comfort zone and think about what is appealing about sports. Here is my short list: 1. It's active! You get to move and jump. No holding still while playing sports. 2. Super fun...most people can't help but smile when playing with their friends. 3. Sports are real! No scripted drama here, real people playing a real game. You don't have to be an expert to incorporate sports into your classroom! I encourage you during March to have sports books in your reading corner. Non fiction books about basketball are a great resource too. Choose books with detailed pictures and diagrams. Here are a few basketball suggetions: The Everything Kids Basketball Book Salt in His Shoes: Michael Jordan in Pursuit of a Dream J is for Jump Shot: A Basketball Alphabet Slam Dunk: My Basketball Book Little Basketball (Rhymes and Riddles) Basketball: How it Works Let students do a report on sports. Even girls could enjoy this! Have a themed sports week or basketball week for March Madness. I made the readers of Sunny Days a freebie to show you just one way you could incorporate basketball in your classroom. Click on the picture below to get yours!

Adrianne Meldrum has a degree in Elementary Education. She currently tutors struggling readers and middle school math students. She is the author of Kidscogworks.com and creator of Brain Tower . Adrianne is the wife of an engineer and a mother to three very handsome boys.