a webquest for 7th and 8th grade math students, focused around the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament

1. March Madness- NBA Style Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] A WebQuest for 7th and 8 th Grade Math Students Designed by Alyssa Ciesco [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page

2. Introduction Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] The NBA has decided to start a new team right here in Colorado. You have been hired to play a HUGE part in the formation of that team. The new owner has trusted you with coming up with a team name, hiring a head coach, and hiring a starting lineup. He has given you a strict budget of $5 million dollars, and has said that you may only hire coaches and players who have participated in the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament. To avoid playing favorites he has decided that no two people may be hired from the same team! He is expecting the best possible team he can get for his money, so choose wisely!

3. The Task Student Page Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Title Create a flyer/report that shows off your new team. Include the team name, team mascot, the roster (including the coach), and important player statistics. Use Microsoft Excel to create a spreadsheet showing your starting budget, the amount spent on each player and coach, the total amount spent, and (if you have any) the amount of money left over.

4. Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Use as many websites as necessary to find out the statistics of individual players and coaches from the teams playing in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Compare and contrast different player statistics. Use what you’ve learned and choose 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center to be on your new team. Also, choose a coach. Here are some websites that will be very helpful for finding NCAA information: www.ncaa.com ----- NCAA home page http://tinyurl.com/2n2cna ---A Player/Team Statistics Generator www.ESPN.com/collegebasketball ----ESPN’s Coverage of the Tournament This website is a list of all the college and university web pages in the US. If you want more information about a specific team, their college’s webpage is a good place to start! http://www.clas.ufl.edu/au/ REMEMBER YOUR BUDGET!!! Use the Coach and Player Salary Guide I have provided to make sure you don’t go over budget. This Guide will tell you how much a player or coach will demand to be paid based on certain statistics. As you hire players and coaches to be a part of your team, keep a record of your budget using Microsoft Excel. The Process 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. Evaluation Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] You will be graded based on the rubric below. Your grade will be out of 55 points. CATEGORY Excellent-15 Met Expectations-10 Unsatisfactory-5 Incomplete- 0 Team Flyer/Report Report/Flyer included detailed information showing great effort in researching players/coaches. Report/Flyer included team name, mascot, roster, and coach information. Report/Flyer was missing required information. No Flyer/Report turned in. Budget Spreadsheet Spreadsheet showed detailed information on how the budget was spent. Student stayed on budget. Spreadsheet showed all information asked, and student stayed on budget. Spreadsheet was missing information OR student went over budget! No spreadsheet turned in. Creativity Student came up with a creative team name and mascot, and utilized color and detail to give their team real personality. Student presented all material in a fun and interesting way. Student showed little use of color or creativity in their final products. No creativity was shown at all. Used time wisely Assignements turned in on time. Assignements turned in late. No assignments turned in.

6. Conclusion Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] What do you think? Is it better to have a great coach with good players, or great players with a good coach? Is it better to spend the most money on one AMAZING player, or spread the money around to several good players? How did having to stay on budget influence your choices? If you didn’t have a budget what would you have changed? Through this activity, whether you knew it or not, you have used analytical and problem-solving skills. You had to understand the difference between a good statistic and a bad statistic in order to create the best team possible. Hopefully, you understand how to analyze data better and still had fun in the process!

7. Credits & References Student Page Title Introduction Task Process Evaluation Conclusion Credits [ Teacher Page ] Thanks to these websites for providing all the resources our class needed! www.ncaa.com http://tinyurl.com/2n2cna www.ESPN.com/collegebasketball http://www.clas.ufl.edu/au/ link back to The WebQuest Page

8. [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page A WebQuest for 7 th and 8th Grade Math Students Designed by Alyssa Ciesco [email_address] Based on a template from The WebQuest Page Evaluation Conclusion

9. Introduction (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This lesson was developed as part of Educational Technology class for future educators at Colorado State University. By creating this webQuest I gained valuable knowledge about how to incorporate technology into my everyday lesson plans. It also showed me how to create a fun lesson for my students, while still covering the standards based content I needed to teach. This lesson puts the students into a role as a scout for a brand new NBA team. They have to use what they know about statistics to decide which players and coach from the 2008 NCAA Tournament to hire for their new team. They have to adhere to a strict budget and produce creative, informative, and well put together end products to be graded by you, their teacher. Evaluation Conclusion

10. Learners (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This lesson is geared toward a 7 th and 8 th grade pre-algebra class. This lesson could serve as an introduction to a statistics or probability unit, or as a wrap-up activity for the same unit. The students will have to use their knowledge of percentages and statistics to decide who would be a valuable player for their team. Evaluation Conclusion

11. Curriculum Standards (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Colorado Math Standards Addressed: Standard 3 Students use data collection and analysis, statistics, and probability in problem-solving situations and communicate the reasoning used in solving these problems. Standard 6 Students link concepts and procedures as they develop and use computational techniques, including estimation, mental arithmetic, paper-and-pencil, calculators, and computers, in problem solving situations and communicate the reasoning used in solving these problems. This lesson focuses on these mathematical standards while also developing several other skills. Students will have to show skill in the areas of comparison, critical thinking, creative production, and time management. This lesson will also help develop the students’ computer literacy skills. Evaluation Conclusion

12. The Process (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Here is the Process as provided to the students. I have included notes for you, the teacher, to keep in mind as the students work. Use as many websites as necessary to find out the statistics of individual players and coaches from the teams playing in the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Compare and contrast different player statistics. Use what you’ve learned and choose 2 guards, 2 forwards, and a center to be on your new team. Also, choose a coach. Here are some websites that will be very helpful for finding NCAA information: www.ncaa.com ----- NCAA home page http://tinyurl.com/2n2cna ---A Player/Team Statistics Generator www.ESPN.com/collegebasketball ----ESPN’s Coverage of the Tournament This website is a list of all the college and university web pages in the US. If you want more information about a specific team, their college’s webpage is a good place to start! http://www.clas.ufl.edu/au/ **Make sure your students are using these websites to gain the information they need, not for checking out their favorite sports team!** REMEMBER YOUR BUDGET!!! Use the Coach and Player Salary Guide I have provided to make sure you don’t go over budget. This Guide will tell you how much a player or coach will demand to be paid based on certain statistics. **Make sure your students understand how important this guide is. They have to make sure the combination of players they choose will not make them go over budget. Reiterate this fact to them SEVERAL times** As you hire players and coaches to be a part of your team, keep a record of your budget using Microsoft Excel. **Tell them to look at their task slide so they know exactly what to include in their spreadsheet** Evaluation Conclusion

13. The Process (Teacher, continued) Make sure your students refer back to the task page so they include the correct information on their flyer/repot for their team (This final piece of the project is not included on the process page). This lesson should not take longer than one 90 minute class period. It will obviously be necessary to reserve a computer lab ahead of time. It is up to you if you want your students to do this activity individually or in small groups. It was designed to be an individual activity, but it could also be done in pairs or groups of 3. If you were to pair up students, I would recommend putting together a student who knows a lot about basketball with a student who doesn’t know much. [ Student Page ] Teacher Pages Title Introduction Process Learners Standards Resources Evaluation Conclusion

15. Evaluation (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page By the end of the period students will have printed out and turned in a team flyer/report and a budget spreadsheet. Use the rubric below to grade the final products. You will be able to tell if this lesson was a success if the students are engaged and on task through out the period, and by how creative the students were with their final products. In the student pages there is a slide titled Conclusion. Based on how much time is remaining, you may want to have your students answer the questions on this slide on a separate sheet of paper. The answers to those questions should also help you judge each students’ understanding of the content and their feelings about the lesson. Evaluation Conclusion CATEGORY Excellent-15 Met Expectations-10 Unsatisfactory-5 Incomplete- 0 Team Flyer/Report Report/Flyer included detailed information showing great effort in researching players/coaches. Report/Flyer included team name, mascot, roster, and coach information. Report/Flyer was missing required information. No Flyer/Report turned in. Budget Spreadsheet Spreadsheet showed detailed information on how the budget was spent. Student stayed on budget. Spreadsheet showed all information asked, and student stayed on budget. Spreadsheet was missing information OR student went over budget! No spreadsheet turned in. Creativity Student came up with a creative team name and mascot, and utilized color and detail to give their team real personality. Student presented all material in a fun and interesting way. Student showed little use of color or creativity in their final products. No creativity was shown at all. Used time wisely Assignements turned in on time. Assignements turned in late. No assignments turned in.

16. Conclusion (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page This lesson should have provided a fun and exciting alternative to a classroom lecture to help present the concept of statistics and its applications in everyday life. Hopefully your students enjoyed the activity, while still leaving class with a better understanding of the concept of statistics. Evaluation Conclusion

17. Credits & References (Teacher) [ Student Page ] Title Introduction Learners Standards Process Resources Credits Teacher Page Thanks to these websites for providing all the resources need! www.ncaa.com http://tinyurl.com/2n2cna www.ESPN.com/collegebasketball http://www.clas.ufl.edu/au/ Link back to The WebQuest Page . Evaluation Teacher Script Conclusion