The Team at Home

Brief Description

Students locate an NCAA basketball tournament team on a map, research the relationship of the team's name and mascot to the history and geography of the college, and cheer the team to victory!

Objectives

Students learn about the geography of a variety of areas as they research how team names and mascots are related to history and/or geography.

Keywords

basketball, geography

Materials Needed

• large paper and markers
• college guides, catalogs, sports directories, etc.
• self-adhesive colored dots
• laminated U.S. map, preferably an outline map
• tournament pairings for men and/or women, copied from local newspaper
• index cards
• The Geography of Team Names handout, one for each student
  
  NOTE: The link to the handout is located within the lesson "NCAA Geography Activity" (registration required). The lesson plan-specific URL can only be accessed by those who have registered on the site and are currently logged in.

Lesson Plan

• Create an NCAA pairings chart that includes the names of the teams.
• Write each team's name on a piece of scrap paper and have each student draw a team name.
• Provide students with index cards and have them locate and record the following information about their assigned teams: college name, location, enrollment, team name and/or mascot, team colors, athletic conference, special features.
• Have students locate and mark their colleges on the U.S. map.
• As the NCAA games proceed, record the game scores and winners on the pairings chart.
• Continue filling in the pairings chart until the National Champion is determined. Hold a celebration for the wining team.

Assessment

Evaluate students on the accuracy of their research.

Submitted By

Marsha Yoder