ACC basketball

The students will use ACC basketball statistics to practice the process of converting fractions to decimals then to percents and will learn how to create and edit a spreadsheet. They will then use this spreadsheet to analyze their data. This unit is done during the basketball season.

A lesson plan for grades 6–8 Mathematics

By Susan Dougherty

Learn more

• ESPN The men's basketball section where student can go to find the boxscores.
• CBS Sports Basketball section where students can go to find the boxscores.

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Related topics

• Learn more about basketball, computation, data analysis, decimals, fractions, mathematics, percents, sports, spreadsheets, and statistics.

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Learning outcomes

The students will use ACC Basketball statistics to learn how to create and edit a spreadsheet, and then use this spreadsheet to analyze the data.

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

1.5 hours

Materials/resources

• calculator
• 11×17-inch paper
• ruler
• pencil
• folder for each group
• overhead projector
• daily sports section of a newspaper
• construction paper
• markers

Technology resources

• computers (works best in a lab with at least nine computers)
• internet connection
• spreadsheet software
• word processing software
• sample spreadsheet created with Clarisworks

Pre-activities

The students should have already had some practice converting fractions to decimals and decimals to percents.

Activities

1. Before the ACC basketball season begins, list all of the teams on the overhead projector with three lines under each team. All the students’ names are put into a jar. As names are pulled out, they may choose the team they want and the teacher will write their name under the name of that team, but no more than three per team. This may have to be adjusted according to the size of the class. You want to make sure that all nine teams are covered, and that there are at least two students for each team.
2. The students will first use the 11×17-inch paper and pencil in a table that looks like a spreadsheet. (Graph paper works well or have students use a straightedge to keep rows and columns organized.) The teacher should demonstrate it on the overhead projector. The column headings should be:
• Week Of
• Opponent
• Points Scored
• 3-point Goals Scored
• Rebounds
• Attendance
• Field Goals Made
• Field Goals Attempted
• Field Goal Fraction
• Field Goal Decimal
• Field Goal Percentage
• Free Throws Made
• Free Throws Attempted
• Free Throw Fraction
• Free Throw Decimal
• Free Throw Percentage
• Player Most Points
• Player Most 3-point Goals
• Player Most Rebounds
• Player Most Assists.
3. Ask the students what the basketball terms mean and discuss them. Some students will know what they are, but not all of them will.
4. Once a week, the students will find the boxscores for their team. These can be found either on the internet (see the links section) or in the sports section of the newspaper the day following the game. They will need to be shown how to find the information they need in a boxscore. This is best demonstrated on the overhead. I usually make an overhead transparency of an example of a boxscore and also give the students a copy of it. As the different sets of data are pointed out on the overhead, the students circle and label the parts on their sheet. They then keep these sheets to use as reference during the unit. In addition, those sports-knowledgeable students that you have can help those that need more help with this.
5. My students do their data every Monday for the games their team played the week before. A week begins on Sunday and ends on the following Saturday. This gives enough time for all boxscores to be available.
6. During the months of November and December, the groups will look up the data in the boxscores (using either the internet or newspaper) and record it on their paper-pencil spreadsheet tables. They may use calculators to convert fractions to decimals and decimals to percents. They will keep all their data for the entire season in a folder that is kept in a box with all the other groups’ folders so if someone is absent on Monday, the other group members can get the folder to do their data for the week.
7. After each group has finished recording their data for the week before, all the students will come together to analyze and discuss the data for the week. They have to find the mean, median, mode, and range of the numerical data. They also have to compare everyone’s data to find the following information:
   • which team scored the most points in a game
   • which team scored the least points in a game
   • which team made the most 3-points goals in a game
   • which team had the most rebounds in a game
   • which team had the least rebounds in a game,
   • which team had the highest attendance at a game
   • which team had the highest field goal percentage in a game
   • which team had the lowest field goal percentage in a game
   • which team had the highest free throw percentage in a game
   • which team had the lowest free throw percentage in a game
   • which player scored the most points in a game
   • which player made the most 3-point goals in a game
   • which player had the most rebounds in a game
   • which player had the most assists in a game
8. After the students have figured out this information, they use the markers and construction paper to record it and put it up in our classroom. It is also put on the morning announcements so the entire school can hear the results.
9. During these two months, I also use their paper-pencil spreadsheet table to teach them the parts of a spreadsheet and how to write formulas for them
10. In January, the students go to the computer lab and use their paper/pencil spreadsheet table to make an actual computer spreadsheet including the formulas. We have already worked on this during class so it usually goes very smoothly. Refer to the sample spreadsheet for clarification.
11. After this, I sign up for the computer lab every Monday. The students will do just as they have been doing, except now they put their data on the computer. We then have the discussion right there in the lab so they can see their spreadsheets for the information they need. They save their spreadsheet every week on a disk that has their team’s name on it and it is kept with their data folder in the ACC Basketball box.
12. This is done every week during the basketball season until the ACC Tournament.
13. Right before the ACC Tournament, each group must use their data to write a paragraph about their team, including its strengths and weaknesses. They use word processing software to type it and print it out. Then the class puts all of them together and produces an ACC Basketball Tournament Preview Newsletter. The students will then use this newsletter to help them predict the winners for each of the games during the tournament. This is done individually, not as a group. I always then have a small prize for the top three students that predict the closest to what actually occurs.

Assessment

One way the goals are assessed is by observation during the weekly data time. I walk around while the students are filling in their data and check for accuracy. During the discussion, I check to make sure that they do have the correct data before it is recorded on the construction paper and put on the morning announcements. Also the students’ paper-pencil spreadsheet tables are taken up and checked in December before they begin putting the data on the computer. Then the disks are collected and I check their spreadsheets for accuracy twice during the unit. The paragraphs typed on the word processing software are checked by me for content and the students’ language arts teacher for grammar and spelling before it is put into the newsletter.

Supplemental information

The approximate time that is required each week for this unit is one and a half hours. The ACC basketball season runs for approximately fifteen weeks from the middle of November to the middle of March.

Comments

I have used this unit successfully for regular, inclusion, and AG classes. Most students really enjoy it. Even those students that do not know anything about sports, hate sports, and really let you know how they do not want to do this usually end up enjoying it and learning a lot. I do teach in a school with block scheduling where I teach the same math class for the entire year.