March Madness Book Bracket Challenge

Kelly Fykes (lk)
We all know March Madness mean crazy fans, nail-biting competitions, surprising upsets and even some trash-talking. For the last few weeks in the halls of the Middle School and in the classes of Kelly Fykes, Susi Durand and Betsy Wengler, all of this has been happening. However, the topic hasn't been basketball but which book should win the March Madness Book Bracket. (Click headline to entire story).


All middle school students completed a survey about their favorite books. The data was tallied and a Sweet Sixteen bracket was created. Some books represented favorites from required reading in English classes and summer reading books. While the rest consisted of books read independently. Students then created Book Talks on Flipgrid to help educate their peers about the different books. Students watched each other's videos and read book reviews posted online to make decisions on how to vote for books they haven't read. Many of the eighth-graders were surprised when To Kill a Mockingbird was knocked out of the first round by The Outsiders.  Mrs. Fykes was crushed when her personal favorite Refugee lost to Unwind. However, all three English teachers agree that the whole process was a win-win, because students have been engaged and talking about books and getting recommendations about new ones to try. The big winner of the March Madness Book Bracket challenge was Neal Shusterman's Unwind. This dystopian novel has proven time and time again to be a crowd favorite. Click here to see Carrington Brown's video where she is trying to persuade her peers to vote for Unwind. 
Back