History Madness
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to History Madness! It's time for heated rivalries, for Cinderella stories, and to
crown a champion. It's time to separate the pretenders from the contenders… and THIS ISN’T ABOUT SPORTS! It's
time for the Annual History Madness.
Who is the most influential person in U.S. History? Who had the great impact?
This is a really tough question that we could debate forever. We will have tournament, based off of the idea of
NCAA Basketball Tournaments (March Madness), to find out. You will assume the role of one historical figure. You
must fight, claw, and scratch your way through the brackets, in search of being the most influential person in U.S.
History.
The tournament will focus not on who was the best or most known, but who was the most influential in U.S.
History. You should focus on the impact your historical figure had on U.S. history. You may want to consider the
following:

Intentional decisions (positive or negative) which had an impact on the U.S. and on Texas

Decisions which had an unintended effect on the society in America

The legacy of the leader i.e. how and why is that person remembered

To analyze impact, think about the changes in the themes of history i.e. political change, social change,
economic change, etc.
Project Prep and Completion Time: There will be some class time provided to get work done, but DO NOT
depend on class time to complete the entire assignment.
Selection
There will be a draft to determine the historical person each group will have throughout the tournament.
Historical figures will be seeded by me and placed in a bracket, which will be revealed before the debate
begins.
1st Round – You and your group will create a presentation about your influential leader. You will use PowerPoint or
Prezi to create you presentation. Do careful research and give detailed information
 Presentation should be no more than 3 minutes long
 Give a brief biography of your individual
 Relevance/contributions to history
 How did individual’s contributions impact Texas
***Please note – if you are knocked out in the first round you must write a 4 paragraph essay, arguing why your
person is an Influential American. The paper must be turned in by May 25th.
2nd Round – Create a poster for your individual that includes: 1.) An image of your individual 2.) List of their
achievement and any other information 3.) Once sentence that sums up their significance to U.S. history. Use a
variety of media (visuals, quotes, info, etc.). NO GLITTER
 We will do a museum walk thru were the posters competing against each other are placed next to each
other and displayed around the room. Students will walk thru the “museum” take notes and vote for the
winner in each match-up.
2nd Round 3rd Round – You will be creating a first person speech from your leader. Your speech needs to be no
longer than 1 minute, and needs to be a persuasive speech about your individual’s most influential moment or
event. You will need to give the speech as the person you are assigned, and try and argue that your most influential
moment is more important to U.S. history than everyone else’s.

The content of your speech should address your individual’s most influential
moment/accomplishment/goal/event. It should serve as a brief argument of your characters importance to
U.S. history
3rd Round 4th Round– Debate Topic: What is your lasting legacy? What makes your individual worthy of this
competition?
Final Round – The two teams left will be competing in a town hall debate, questions possibly from the teacher or
jury. You will assume the role of your individual in the debate. You should emphasize your own attributes, but
don’t forget to attack the weakness of your opponent.
Voting – After each matchup for every round, the rest of the class will be using Poll Everywhere to vote who is the
winner. This means it is extremely important for everyone to pay careful attention to every presentation because
you will be deciding who is the winner is for every single matchup.
Forfeiture Clause – Any forfeit/failure to complete the assignment will result in an automatic 3 page research paper
due Friday May 20
Assignment/Grading
Highlight Sheet – Outline of information about your individual and their achievements
Bibliography – Should include all sources used and in MLA
PowerPoint – Create a PowerPoint on your historical figure. Must include background information (where, when,
life events, etc.). Most importantly, it must emphasize the significance of the person.
Highlight Sheet (15 pts.)
Due Date: _________
Bibliography (25 pts)
Due Date: _________
PowerPoint (25 pts)
Due Date: _________
Presentation (25 pts)
Due Date: _________
Self-Evaluation – (5 pts)
Due Date: _________
Peer Evaluation – (5 pts)
Due Date: _________
Bonus – 5pts for getting past 1st Round
Bracketology – You may play the additional points in the project. Predict the winners of each round and earn extra
points. 1 point for each correct prediction. Brackets must be submitted before the tournament begins
General Rules
No interference with the speaker.
Notecards are acceptable, but reading more than a phrase will result in a far lower score.
You must respect the other team. If you are rude or hostile during the activity you will be disqualified.
Questions?
If you have any questions throughout the process, or need help on the assignment, I will always make myself
available. However, make sure you are working on this well before your actual debate is to take place, so that you
are not rushing at the last minute.
****If you know you are going to be absent from school on the day of a competition, you must tell me ASAP. There is
some wiggle room (not much) to arrange the competitions. If you are absent on the day of a competition and haven’t
made arrangements, you will forfeit your round.