March Madness, a famous college basketball tournament celebrated around the world. It's that time of year when office pools pop-up and the daily water cooler chat is about the amazing basket, foul, lack thereof, or game the previous night. Both die-hard and casual fans celebrate the excitement that is college basketball. During the month of March, throughout our schools, there is another, lesser known, March Madness. This March Madness may not have has much hype and fanfare, but it still rocks with excitement. I'm talking about March BOOK Madness. For many years now, my students have participated in one form or another of March Book Madness.
The first few years our March Book Madness was a small, self-contained operation. I would collect all the books - both picture and chapter - we had read during the year. We would set up a bracket challenge and then my class would vote until we selected our champion. This was fun, but lacking a connection with other readers.
This year, we participated in a wonderful world-wide March Book Madness organized by Tony Keefer (@tonykeefer) and Scott Jones (@ escott818.) My fourth grade students were in charge of running the tournament for our K-6 school. To include every one of our 600 plus regular education, life skill, and autistic support students, we opted to participate in the picture book division. We introduced the tournament to the entire school at our February Town Hall meeting. Students presented the competing book titles and we set up a school bracket.
My students worked in groups of two-three to become experts on two books. If a teacher wanted a book talk, they knew who to contact. The summaries were hung near the brackets, so students could review as they considered their vote. As my students summarized books, delivered book talks to some of our younger students, and created book trailers, they practiced 21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.
Digital tools made March Book Madness come alive for all our students. From an Office 365 One Note with embedded video trailers and voting forms, to Twitter, QR codes and photography, students used digital tools in authentic meaningful ways.
The March Book Madness experience this year enriched much more than my students' reading and writing skills. It allowed them to present their books to peers and students both older and younger. They had to overcome shyness and anxiety of speaking in front of groups. It gave them authentic reasons to read, write, and present. Wow! Aren't we all looking for those opportunities for our students?
All month we updated the bracket board outside the cafeteria. As students of all ages passed I often overheard how "their" book was still in it, or had been unfairly eliminated. Each morning I entered school and was asked ,"Who is winning?" "Do we have this week's winners yet?" The excitement was palpable throughout the school.
Finally, it came down to two books. As with basketball March Madness, it seems a shame that only one team, or in this case one book, can win. The Friday before the last vote our school had its monthly Town Hall Meeting. On the agenda was a pep rally for the two remaining books, Ivan and Gaston. It seemed that our student body was evenly split. Students encouraged one another to vote for the "best" book.
The voting ended and Gaston was selected as the winner. Morning announcement of the winner was greeted with many cheers and more than a few disappointed groans. Later in the day, I found a simple letter on my desk. A student who had rooted for Ivan was deeply disappointed. In his letter he explained that Ivan had "gone through so much in his life," and to have not won March Madness was just not fair. I would say the March Book madness made an impact.
Until next year, happy reading!
As most people know, autism occurs in epidemic numbers. Some agencies report a 1 in 68 chance of a child being diagnosed with autism. Just last year, the CDC reported that 1 in 45 children have autism, based on an annual door-to-door survey. Alarming as that may be; it does not tell the whole story. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder of degrees. People affected with autism are often said to be on "the spectrum." That is because autism presents in as many different ways as the people effected by it.
One symbol for autism is the brightly colored puzzle piece. This logo was originally selected because autism was a "puzzling" collection of symptoms and the puzzle piece was unique. While not everyone favors the puzzle piece, it does seem to be the most commonly used symbol.
April is autism awareness month. We take time this month to be aware that we all need help, respect, and care from one another. So, this month, let's celebrate the differences that make us unique, that make us one small piece in a gigantic, world-wide puzzle. Let's become aware of what we all need from one another. And most importantly, let's become aware of what we all can give one another.
