March Mammals (& more) Madness

 

 It's time for another year of March Mammal Madness! It is similar to the NCAA basketball tournament, but with all types of animals and other organisms. This competition was created by Katie Hinde and the MMM Team at ASU with the help of many scientists, artists, and other talented specialist. Go to their main page to learn more about the competition and find TONS of resources you can use to implement it into your classroom.  I first tried the March Mammal Madness competition in 2020 and loved it as much as my students did (especially with the online schooling as we dealt with COVID!)  Each year the competition gets better and better by challenging the students to do their research to make the best picks on their MMM bracket!  I always find ways to connect the tournament to concepts we've studied in class!  Even better, I love seeing my students make those connections and share them with me!

Official MMM Resources - Go to their webpage for the Educator's Guide.  If this is your first time using MMM, be sure to review all the information in the Educator Starter Pack files.  This page also provides links to lesson plans (many subects other than science) and a link to an amazing list of resources created by teachers who love MMM!  Check the list before starting from scratch for MMM activities!

Rodent Roundtable on YouTube - The place to learn more about past competitions as well as battle recaps for this year's competition.  Also check our Katie Hinde's YouTube page for great videos to introduce your students to the competition, which I have included in my resources below.

My Resources (created for use with our 5th-8th grade students)

• Print Version - 5th & 6th Grade - We use paper versions for our younger students. 

  • Teacher slides presentation - Check out slides 2 & 3 in the teacher slides presentation for more information about each worksheet and a proposed schedule if this is your first time trying the competition. The printable worksheets that go with the presentation are listed below.

  • Printable worksheets:
    Offical bracket - Available on the MMM Educator's page
    Notes page - Provides an introduction to MMM and reviews the basics
    Sample battles - The MMM Team provided sample battles for students to predict winners.  The teacher slides includes background information to help them finalize their decisions.
    Animal Classification - Classification activity with a video reviewing the major animal phyla

• Digital Version - 7th & 8th Grade - We use the digital version for the older students. 

  • Teacher Slides Presentation - Check out slides 2 -4 in the teacher presentation for more information about each slide/activity and a proposed schedule if this is your first time trying the competition. The other digital files that go with the presentation are listed below.

  • Digital Bracket + Notes - Includes the official bracket (on slide 4) along with an introduction slide to review the basics, sample battles for students to predict winners based on information provided by the MMM team, and an animal classification activity.

  • Combatant Guide - This PDF file is a redesigned version of the official slides. I rearranged the slides so each round 1 battle in on one page, which makes it easier for our students to compare the combatants.

  • Scouting Report & Scouting Report Directions - I print a list gtof the combatants for student teams to "pick" the organism they will research for the project.  I print the reports and use them to make a large hallway display.  After each battle, we cross off the ones who lost their battles so everyone can see what is happening!

• Other Resources

  • mrstomm.com - I have added a MMM section on my classroom website (Biology --> Plants & Animals) with links to the combatant guide and websites students can use to do their own research.  I will add more links as resources are developed, such as Blooket , Quizlet, and GimKit activities you can use with your students.

  • MMM Favorite Picks - Google Form - Students complete this form after the finialize their brackets.  The form asks them to submit their picks for the wild card, each division, and the chamption. I share the results with the kids and add stars on the pictures of the top picks from our school.  Note: The link should force you to make a copy you can share with your students.

  • Quizlet Vocabulary Challenge - I created this vocab set on Quizlet to use with our 5th & 6th graders.  It's a good overview of the basics of the tournament and animal classification.  My students love the match game option to see how fast they can complete it.  They also love playing as teams in the "live" version.

 

Questions?  Refer back to the March Mammal Madness main page, which has a wealth of resources for those new to the competion as well as those who have participated many years.  You can also follow them on social media, such as Facebook.