March Book Madness
A reading experience for students
Ask any classroom teacher: the stretch of time from January to March (New Year’s to Spring Break) is arduous. The high of the holidays and the start of winter have ebbed. The first half of the school year is over and both teachers and students are beginning to feel the tug of exhaustion and boredom. Spring Break is still a long way off and everyone finds it difficult to engage in the rigor of teaching and learning.
Teachers Tony Keefer and Scott Jones wanted to motivate their students to read more. Inspired by the School Library Journal’s “Battle of the Books, they created an online reading tournament, bracket-style, that matches books head-to-head. Throughout the months of February and March, their students would vote individually (or as a class) on books matched against each other. It was such a huge success that in 2015, they decided to share March Book Madness online so that other teachers could participate.
For the last few years, our entire fifth-grade has participated in March Book Madness. Once the books are announced in mid-January, I try and secure as many copies as possible from parent donations and the public library. Having this as an entire grade-level reading experience reinvigorates the lull students feel this time of year. After each book students read, they create book trailers and campaign for their favorites.
In March, we vote as a class at the end of each week, slowly narrowing down the books until we get to the Final Four, and then the finals. It makes for an exciting month, especially because I purchase the winning novel for each of my students.
This year, I wasted no time in getting my students excited for the books that would be competing in March Book Madness. The selection this year includes Newbery Award finalists and winners, and National Book Award winners. With a variety of novels and graphic novels, my students never have any trouble picking a book that interest them.
The March Book Madness website includes a Picture Book bracket for younger students, and YA Novel bracket for adolescents and teens. I especially love how Keefer and Jones encourage teachers to customize the bracket with their own book titles. If you don’t see a title you like, or if you have a prescribed reading list, you can pick sixteen of your favorite novels to go head-to-head in a tournament-style competition!
To help hype-up our students, we invited our local public library to give a book talk for each of the titles. Librarians are incredible human beings, and they came prepared with engaging teasers for each book and bookmarks featuring a few of the titles!
We are now one week into February, and my students are binge-reading these books. Most of my reluctant readers chose to read the graphic novels first. My boys are obsessed with Gamerville by Jonnie Christmas and my girls loved reading Curveball by Pablo Cartaya and Duel by Jessixa and Aaron Bagley. Since most of my students have read the graphic novel picks, many are currently reading The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman, The Eyes and the Impossible, And then, BOOM!, and The Night War.
My students have been begging me for more silent reading time! One strategy I’m using to keep them more engaged during independent reading, is using the Ladder of Thinking. I got this idea from Gerrit Jones-Rooy on
. He explains the importance of structuring independent reading time.I want you to think about things in terms of before, during, and after reading. Before reading, we have to set kids up with some very fun, very interesting, and very meaningful things that they can actually think about. I like using the Ladder of Thinking. I have students pick one thing to zero in on while reading to discuss at the end. During reading, I circulate and connect with kids. I want to show them that I care about these ideas and the books they are reading. After reading, we can’t just close the books up and be done with reading. Students need time to process. I give them time to find a stopping place in their books and prepare to share with a partner what they were thinking about during reading.
Gerrit Jones-Rooy explains that with the Ladder of Thinking, there is always something students can discuss after reading a book. I prepare my students for independent reading time by prompting them to choose one thing to think about during reading. I then circulate the room and check in with students. I don’t want to interrupt them too much, but just like Gerrit Jones-Rooy says, I want to show them I am interested in what they are reading. Afterwards, we share out with the whole class.
Coupling Ladders of Thinking with March Book Madness has radically improved our independent reading time and book clubs. More students are engaged in their books. During our book clubs, I’ve noticed that when a group’s conversation begins to lull students are using the Ladders of Thinking to redirect their conversation to the book.
I’m excited for March to arrive so that students can start voting on their favorite books. I will have our fifth-grade students vote internally to our school, and then add our vote to the #2025MBM official ballot. This year, I’m more confident that we will have read almost all of the March Book Madness picks before voting. One student took The First State of Being home and read the whole book! I’m seeing students read and walk to the bus! I’m hearing students talk about the books they are reading. This March Book Madness learning experience is spreading the love of books and reading!
Let me know if you plan to participate as a school or individual class. I’d love to know which books you choose as the winner. I had my students mark their predictions last week. I plan to award students who have the closest matching bracket to the winner.
I plan to update with my students’ book trailers and our grade-level voting results. Stay tuned!
Have a great week!
—Adrian
2025 Middle Grade Novels
For brevity’s sake, I won’t review or provide a synopsis for each of this year’s books. Rest assured, these are incredible titles! The First State of Being won Newbery Medal.
The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly
Max in the House of Spies by Adam Gidwitz
Duel by Jessixa Bagley & Aaron Bagley
Curveball by Pablo Cartaya/Miguel Diaz Rivas
Uprooted: A Memoir About What Happens When Your Family Moves Back by Ruth Chan
Gamerville by Jonnie Christmas
The Mystery of Locked Rooms by Lindsay Currie
And then, BOOM! By Lisa Fipp
Faker by Gordan Korman
The Misfits by Lisa Yee, Dan Santat
A Strange Thing Happened In Cherry Hall by Jasmine Varga
Forever Twelve by Stacey McAnulty
Mid Air by Alicia Williams
The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko
The Night War by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
Resources
A Quick and Dirty History of Spring Break
I fell down a bit of an Internet rabbit hole learning the origins of Spring Break.
I’m a huge advocate for our local public library system. In this video, CO librarians discuss their school outreach programs and show some of the cool ways they engage students to read new books. I highly recommend partnering with your public library!
March Book Madness | A Reflection from teacher, Tony Keefer
In this short article, Tony Keefer tells the origins of March Book Madness and what he’s learned these last ten years.
Mr. Sharp, an incredible fifth-grade teacher, is the biggest advocate for helping students find books that help them fall in love with reading. He’s even friends with
, The Book Whisperer! He co-hosts The Yarn Podcast with Teacher Librarian Travis Jonker and writes for The Nerdy Book Club blog.
If you don’t believe me, check out how much Mr. Sharp LOVES reading!
A free Google Slide bracket image for projecting in classrooms
I found this online and update it with the cover images for each book.
Ladder of Thinking Reflection Sheet
I designed this reflection sheet for students to collect their thoughts before sharing with a partner. Feel free to use as you wish!
Begging you for more silent reading time! You know you’re doing something right.
Who won in your class! My kids are so curious to know! We’re making our way through all the books