March Madness “brackets” originally referred to the groupings of teams in the NCAA basketball tournament. But eventually, people began making brackets for their favorite movies, songs or books.

Now, brackets have crossed over into the world of mathematics, as small teams of Carl Sandburg sixth-graders compete in their own tournament. Let’s just call it “March Mathness.”

The three-member teams compete for points by correctly answering questions on a math game sheet. Teams are given one point for every correct answer on the math game sheet. With five or six relatively difficult questions in each game and just 25 minutes to compete, one correct answer could determine which team wins their matchup.

“It’s kind of a fun way to get them doing something that’s a little different than the routine,” said Principal Andrew Vondran.

The Math Department came up with the idea and with nearly 180 sixth-graders at Carl Sandburg, the 60 teams are made up of three students each. The students pick their own team name including: “The Preppy Penguins;” “Mathematical GOATS;” “Pink Highlighters;” and “Girl Power.”

The brackets, posted on the walls of the sixth-grade hallway, are made up of 15 teams in each of four regions. (A real bracket would include an even number. In this case one team bypasses the first round). As teams win their matchup, they advance to play another winner in their bracket. Eventually, the number of winning teams drops to 16, then eight, four and two.

The tournament will wrap up the week after Spring Break and the winning team will be awarded with a pizza party. Because of the disparity between levels of math in various classrooms, the top team in each class will also win a pizza party.

Some of the sixth-graders competing in the March Madness at Carl Sandburg gather under the posters showing the tournament brackets.