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March 11, 2014

Book Madness: A Tournament of Books

 Well friends, I have never been so excited for a sporting event. In fact, this past weekend, I had to employ every bit of knowledge I have about the NCAA tournament (i.e. please read that as very little knowledge). 😉 Our newest book display is up and I’m SO excited to share it with you. Even with bullies, Pearl Harbor, Banned Books, and Black History, this book display is my absolute favorite!
My kids {love} sports and between rec teams and AAU teams, it seems they spend most of their afternoons and weekends involved in some type of athletic event. Additionally, being a Kentuckian, basketball is serious business. UK rules. No questions asked. This makes March Madness the perfect event to merge my kids’ love of basketball and our love of amazing books. Hence, I present to you affiliate links and freebies for setting-up a Book Madness: A Tournament of Books!

How Were the Books Picked

The first job was picking the Sweet 16. Over the course of the year, I have kept a tally of the books students have been reading and writing about, and chose the 16 books that were favorites in our grade. If multiple books in a series showed up on the list, I showcased the first book in the series. Below are a few of our ‘chosen’ books! 🙂 The full list includes Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Dairy of a Wimpy Kid, I Funny, Football Genius, Stick Dog, The Witches, Number the Stars, Wonder, The One and Only Ivan, Stranded, I Survived, Nancy Drew Clue Crew, Bad Kitty, Bone, and Origami Yoda.

If you didn’t have a running list, you could also ask your school librarian to run a list of the books most commonly checked-out. This year (2016), our librarian is running a primary and an intermediate list for our school’s two book tournaments. She ran a list of the most-checked out books for primary and intermediate and we chose the books from that list!

How Do I Make the Bracket?

In terms of supplies, you’ll need black tape (or paper), book covers (I printed mine using photos online), scissors, a meter stick, and your tournament markers (Elite 8, Final 4, etc.). You may grab the updated 2016 tournament markers here for free from Teachers Pay Teachers!
Initially I planned on using strips of black paper as the black brackets, but I dreamed Saturday night of using tape (teachers dream of THE weirdest things!). During my Sunday morning trip to Walmart, I picked up a roll of black Gorilla Tape (1 in thick). In case your planning on making a bracket of your own, it took me about 30 feet of tape for my bracket!
Also, note that I did not measure the pieces of tape. I ignored my OCD tendencies and just eyed the pieces…I KNOW. It gave me the heebie-jeebies for the first 12 pieces of tape, but by the time I cut my 30th piece of tape, I got over it.

Here’s what the progression of bracket-making looked like. I made a fatal error around the Elite Eight (I made the distance between markers too small to host two books during the Sweet 16 round) that added an additional 20ish minutes to the experience -boo. Thankfully, it was an easy fix and kids don’t notice when one side of the bracket is a few inches shorter than the other. 😉

After finishing up the bracket with the Sweet 16 books in place, I needed to make the basketballs for the display header. Using my handy dandy Martha Stewart Circle Cutter(BEST invention ever), I cut 6.5 inch circles and drew basketball lines on them using black marker…yes, I did have to Google what a basketball looked like. 😉 Then, using the school’s dye-cut machine and a glue stick, I added the letters to the overlapping basketballs.

Who is Able To Vote?

As part of the voting, students are only allowed to participate in the vote if they’ve read the two books facing off. To make sure everyone has access to the books, I put any copies of the books or their accompanying series top of our shelves. As students finish these favorites, they’ll return them to the stands for others to read! I purchased extra copies of the books from Amazon and Scholastic. I also checked-out all the copies of the books from our school and public libraries. You might also send home a “Book Wishlist” and see if any of your families are willing to donate books.

When Do You Start Your Tournament?

As soon as our bracket went up at the end of February, my kids were PUMPED and were reading as fast as they could to make it through a *few* more books before our vote for the Elite 8!

I follow the NCAA tournaments dates. I set up a Google Survey so students can easily vote at the beginning of the school day.

How Do You Make Your Bracket?

In addition to voting for the best books of our school year, students will also fill out their own bracket predicting the winners. For every correct answer, students will receive a point. The 3 students with the most points will receive a free book from our next Scholastic order! 🙂 We’ll fill out our brackets with the start of the tournament this Friday!

What Does The Final Bracket Looks Like?

So, when all these parts come together it looks a little like this… 🙂 (Click here to see our 2014 Tournament Results)

 

 

Well friends, I am so excited! It was priceless to see my kids’ faces this morning and I loved the peering eyes of 3rd graders as they passed our door. The halls were definitely a buzz, and my kids are so excited to power read through the books they haven’t yet experienced!

Running a School-Wide Tournament

Since moving schools, our school has adopted a school-wide book tournament. It’s the perfect chance to build community around some of our favorite books and it was just plain FUN! We ran two brackets (that were set up in our cafeteria) – one for picture books and one for chapter books. Our school librarian ran a list of the most checked-out books of the year – picture and chapter books. Then, we eliminated series duplicates (always choosing Book 1) and then, pitted the books against one another. All 750 students and 50 staff participated in the picture book challenge. We had different staff members read all of the books through morning meetings, library times, and a few via YouTube! Then, our intermediate grades had lots of copies of the chapter books for students to read. Finally, when it came time to vote, we set up our voting windows for 2 days. Students could vote on a Google Form before our school-wide morning meeting, during reading class, and during library or computer lab.

Tournaments Around the Country

Seeing Book Madness in action around the country is awesome. I love sharing materials and see how teachers make them their own. Want to share your tournament, I’d love to hear from you. Share a picture on Instagram and tag me – @BrownBagTeacher.

So, what do you think? Do you incorporate March Madness into your classroom? Do you set-up your own book bracket? If so, I’d love to hear about it. 🙂 In the meantime, make sure to snag the materials for FREE so you can get started without a headache!

Join me for weekly classroom updates and free resources that are just-right for your guided math classroom!

Sweet! Thanks so much for joining me. Now check your email to confirm your address & snag your freebies. Happy Teaching! -Catherine

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Related Posts

  • Book Madness: A Tournament of Books
  • Curating a 5th Grade Classroom Library
  • Building Excitement for Reading (Reading in the Wild: Chapter 2)
  • Tournament of Books {The Champ Has Been Named!}

Filed Under: 5th Grade, Book Displays, featured Tagged With: 5th Grade, Library Display

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. FabandFunin4th! says

    March 11, 2014 at 12:36 am

    This is sooooo cool! What a great idea!

    Bethany
    FabandFunin4th!

    Reply
  2. Katie King says

    March 11, 2014 at 12:40 am

    Love it! Now the question is can I make this happen?!?!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      March 11, 2014 at 1:06 am

      This is right up your alley, Katie! Add in some Patricia Polacco & Ezra Jack Keats and you'll be good to go. 🙂

      Reply
    • Mrs. Saoud says

      March 11, 2014 at 2:44 am

      Katie, I posted about the tournament on Primary Graffiti FB back in February with lots of primary books from our school wide tournament. Catherine, your intermediate tournament brackets look like a ton of fun! Your kids will be so excited!

      Reply
  3. Michelle Spencer says

    March 11, 2014 at 12:59 am

    What a brilliant and beautiful concept!

    Reply
  4. Kelli says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:03 am

    I've said it before and I'll say it again… I always look forward to your displays and this one is my FAVORITE!! I so badly want to be a student in your room. How fun is this!! Not to mention, the books you picked already resonate with your students because many of them have read them which must just increase their excitement even more. Bravo, Catherine. Bravo!

    Kelli
    Tales of a Teacher

    Reply
    • Kelli says

      March 11, 2014 at 1:04 am

      P.s. Please keep us updated on the 'winners' of each game!

      Reply
    • Kate says

      March 11, 2014 at 1:08 am

      Kelli, Thank you SO much. Making these displays is one of my favorite things to do. 🙂 My kids have so adopted the reading lifestyle and it's been so fun to encourage that. And of course I'll keep you updated. I predict Wonder and Diary of a Wimpy Kid will be in the championship game, but I am really interested in what the kids choose! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Keep Calm and Love First Grade says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:16 am

    This is soooooo cool!!!! Awesome idea… Thanks for sharing. I'd love to try it with some picture books next year. I just love reading your blog and all of your creative ideas!
    Melissa
    Keep Calm and Love First Grade

    Reply
  6. paige buckwalter says

    March 11, 2014 at 1:27 am

    I have my signs ready and I am getting to school early to put mine up! I can't wait to see how this goes for my little ones:) I plan to do a read aloud each day with the picture books, I am predicting that Pete the Cat or A David Shannon book will win. You are SO creative and I am so thankful to call you a friend, even if you root for the wrong team in Kentucky 😉 Go Cards!

    Reply
  7. Dawn S. says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:15 am

    While it might be too late to start this now (we are on spring break this week), I am keeping this in mind for next year! This is a fantastic idea!

    Reply
  8. Diane R says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:22 am

    Oh, this is amazing!! Pinning for next year!

    Reply
  9. Miss Lifesaver says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:39 am

    I pinned this last year and am desperately waiting my opportunity to use it! Great post!!

    Reply
  10. Alison Rose says

    March 11, 2014 at 2:48 am

    Love, love, love, love! Pinned….did I mention I love?
    Alison
    Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'

    Reply
  11. Molly says

    March 11, 2014 at 3:01 am

    This looks so fun!!!! Can't wait to see the winning books!!!

    Reply
  12. Kelly Anne says

    March 11, 2014 at 5:49 am

    LOVE this idea… can't wait to see who wins!!

    Reply
  13. Eclectic Educating says

    March 11, 2014 at 10:29 am

    The display looks amazing! I love how motivating it is! Great idea!

    Amy
    Eclectic Educating

    Reply
  14. Mrs. Burgen says

    March 11, 2014 at 6:24 pm

    This is seriously the COOLEST IDEA EVER!!! I love that you showed how to make the board as well, because I am somewhat layout challenged. I have been searching for ideas to get my kinders more excited about books and discussing books etc. I think I have just found the solution. It will take us a little longer though…I think I will steal this AMAZING idea and set it up for after spring break to last until the end of the year. Thank you for sharing!!

    Reply
  15. Bridget S says

    March 11, 2014 at 9:45 pm

    AMAZING 🙂 Love it!!! I'm not sure I can pull this off this year (Spring Break is in 2 days), but next year I would love to get with the librarian and see how we could do this school wide!!!

    Literacy Without Worksheets

    Reply
  16. Sarah says

    March 12, 2014 at 1:49 am

    Catherine, I'm a new follower and I have to say, the timing seems meant to be. I've been searching around for inspiration for a March Madness book tournament and here you are posting about yours in my first feed from your blog. Anyway, thanks so much for the inspiration and the freebies. I'm having all the 4th and 5th graders at my school vote for "the BEST book I've read all year." From those I'll pick our field of 16 and get our display up in a library window next week. Thanks again!
    Sarah

    Reply
  17. Joanne Miller says

    March 12, 2014 at 2:51 am

    Amazing, beautiful, creative, brilliant, breath-taking, motivating, should I go on??!!! Catherine, you've outdone yourself!
    Joanne
    Head Over Heels For Teaching

    Reply
  18. Jamie Hoisman says

    March 12, 2014 at 3:32 am

    Ah-maze-ing!! I love this! I've never done anything with March Madness before, but you have inspired me. I'll be working on this over my spring break next week. Thank you for posting such awesome pictures, too! And many thanks for the beautiful freebie!
    Jamie

    Reply
  19. Megan Clayton says

    March 12, 2014 at 7:04 pm

    I LOVE this idea and I am in the process of making my bracket. How will you have the kids "vote" on the Elite Eight?

    Reply
    • Jackie says

      February 23, 2017 at 11:34 am

      I’m so excited to try the March Book Madness. One question I still have is how do students vote for their top pick?

      Reply
      • Catherine says

        February 26, 2017 at 1:38 pm

        Hey Jackie! We vote using Google Forms!

        Reply
  20. Susan Anderson says

    March 13, 2014 at 4:12 pm

    This is fantastic. Thanks for all of the help!

    Reply
  21. Monica says

    March 14, 2014 at 3:20 am

    What a wonderful idea! My 2nd grade team is adopting this using picture books that we have read in class and will read. It will be so much fun! Thanks for the great idea!

    Reply
  22. Kaitlin Edmunds says

    March 15, 2014 at 3:31 am

    Catherine! I am swooning over this idea!! OMG! Love it! You rock, girl!!!
    Kaitlin
    K&C Love Grade 3

    Reply
  23. Rachel Vincent says

    March 16, 2014 at 3:10 am

    LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! You're boards are amazing and this one is my favorite!!
    Rachel
    A Tall Drink of Water

    Reply
  24. Sonya Yoder says

    March 18, 2014 at 1:03 am

    I absolutely love this, and I just created my own tonight!! Thank you so much for all your help and sharing!! You are wonderful. I was wondering where you made your bracket? It looks awesome, but I chose some different books for ours. Thank you for your time and hard work! 🙂

    Reply
  25. Third in Hollywood says

    March 18, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    So amazing!!!!

    Reply
  26. Tara says

    March 20, 2014 at 2:50 am

    My colleague and I stumbled upon your blog while looking for book brackets. We are putting our board up tomorrow. Thanks for the great tutorial. We have adapted for middle school. As I looked at your blog for the 100th time today, I realized you we are both teaching in the bluegrass state! Thanks again for the inspiration!

    Reply
  27. *eLiZaBeTh* says

    March 31, 2014 at 1:30 am

    wow. what an awesome idea!!!!!

    Reply
  28. Susan Shepherd says

    March 31, 2014 at 11:03 pm

    This is an amazing idea! I'm so sad that I saw it after the tournament started! A must for next year!

    ~Susan

    Reply
  29. Style Closet to Classroom says

    April 13, 2014 at 10:49 pm

    I am just reading this post and I LOVE IT! I am "stealing" this idea for next year
    Also–I am obsessed with Stitch Fix and thanks to you…i just signed up!! How did I not know about that?! Ha that is why I love this blogging world 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply
  30. Mrs. Spangler in the Middle says

    January 16, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    Thank you so much for this super idea! I came to this post from Pinterest and it's perfect to use in connection with our Argumentation essays! 🙂

    -Lisa
    Mrs. Spangler in the Middle

    Reply
  31. C Hath says

    January 19, 2015 at 2:27 am

    I LOVE this idea!! I can't wait to get things together to do this!! Thank you for the reminder on Facebook tonight, and for being such an amazing teacher!!

    Mrs. 3rd Grade 

    Reply
  32. Heather Renz says

    February 9, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    What a great way to motivate students! So creative! Love it!
    Heather from Mrs. Renz 4th Grade Class

    Reply
  33. CCSDeweyDiva says

    February 10, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    I love this! I'm trying do this in my library and was wondering how you created the brackets?

    Reply
    • Kate says

      February 18, 2015 at 5:49 pm

      Hello! I used an online bracket creator. It was super simple. All I had to do is type in each book's name. 🙂

      Reply
  34. gpssubteacher says

    February 10, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    Will you be updating this for 2015?

    Reply
    • Kate says

      February 18, 2015 at 5:48 pm

      Yes!!! I just updated the files. You can snag them here – https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Book-Madness-A-Tournament-of-Books-1714992

      Reply
    • gpssubteacher says

      February 20, 2015 at 3:32 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  35. aoneill says

    February 20, 2015 at 12:56 am

    This is amazing and I would love to incorporate this into my 4th grade classroom. I was wondering how you went about introducing this to students and if you had them write anything about each book once they read them. Also, did you have multiple copies of the books or were the kids responsible for finding them at libraries, etc. if they hadn't read them before? Thanks!

    Reply
  36. Kim says

    February 20, 2015 at 3:15 am

    You are awesome! LOVE this idea! How did you have them vote? How did you confirm that the students have read the books? We are wanting to do this school wide and can't wait to get started!

    Reply
  37. Laura Ledgewood says

    February 22, 2015 at 4:06 am

    Love this! Going to start with my lazy (I mean lack of motivation) fifth grade readers tomorrow!

    Reply
  38. Probinson.English says

    February 23, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    I am using this with my Senior English classes. We are going to have a Tournament of British Poetry. They might actually be motivated to read and analysis the poems with the March Madness concept. How do you use Survey Monkey for voting in a tournament? Is there a tutorial for this? I am only seeing how to survey with questions.

    Reply
    • gpssubteacher says

      February 23, 2015 at 10:41 pm

      Try a google survey? You can set it up with your brackets beginning with a sweet 16 category and then updating it weekly, moving into the elite 8, then final 4, etc. Good luck!

      Reply
  39. Ms. Wilt says

    October 1, 2015 at 7:05 pm

    I know I'm a little late to comment, but what an awesome idea! Totally going to borrow it for this March!

    Reply
  40. Holly Tyler says

    February 1, 2016 at 3:45 pm

    Ok, So I really want to do this with my firsties… And I was thinking I would do it as a class.. Pick small books on their level, read the books as a class and vote together. So read the two books in each bracket, vote on our favorite, then move on… I was wondering, when do you think we should start? When the actual basketball starts to keep in authentic?

    Reply
  41. Allen jeley says

    March 14, 2016 at 6:42 pm

    Really nice book i read this book all stories and its give me great historical information thanks for share it personal statement proofreading .

    Reply
  42. Mrs. Full says

    March 14, 2016 at 10:57 pm

    This is the best idea – EVER! Thank you for sharing your materials. I created a book bracket to use with my fifth grade students. This bracket is creating so much fun in my reading class. I linked back to your blog to give credit to YOU for this creative, fun idea. If interested, you may check out my bracket pic A Full Classroom

    Reply
  43. Suji DeHart says

    April 14, 2016 at 4:19 am

    Such a great idea! Well done! I live overseas, so I might do one for the next World Cup, as our students don't know much about March Madness!!

    Reply
  44. D says

    February 13, 2017 at 8:58 pm

    Do they have to have read the book to vote?

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 19, 2017 at 2:41 am

      Yes, definitely. If students have read both books, they can vote in that match-up.

      Reply
  45. cynthia wells says

    February 22, 2017 at 9:16 pm

    What dates will you use for this year?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      February 26, 2017 at 1:39 pm

      I’ll be using the official NCAA Tournament dates, starting March 14th!

      Reply
  46. kathy says

    February 26, 2021 at 4:08 am

    How did you print the book covers? I am finding it diffiult.

    Reply

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My name is Catherine Reed, and I am in my 8th year in elementary life, residing in small-town, Kentucky.  I student taught in 1st grade and never ...

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