March Madness in History Class: Everything You Need to Know

High School is hard!

As a teacher, I get that. There are so many different things happening Students make many decisions that can impact their futures. It's hard to find a guiding light as they struggle to find themselves and where they belong. One of the most important things a teacher can do is provide an example of a good role model.

That's where March Madness comes in.

I'm not talking about the basketball tournament, although that serves as the inspiration for this project. I'm talking about a tournament that allows students to determine who the Most Courageous American of all time is. Think of the role models you have had throughout your life. What did you admire most about them? In a world with so many conflicting viewpoints and ideas, it's easy for anyone to become confused and absorbed in the chaos. So why not add a little bit of light to a dark world using the examples of the great people who came before us. 

Courage is a very desirable trait-one that many students (and probably all of us) wish to develop more of. The Most Courageous American tournament allows students to research and highlight any person throughout American or World History-depending on what class you are teaching. This student-driven activity focuses not only on the courageous people we can all aspire to be like, but it also helps students develop and refine their skills of argumentation and defending their arguments with logical evidence. 

How does it work?

A student-created poster for 2017 winner, Louis Zamperini

The tournament operates much in the same way that the March Madness basketball tournament operates. Each student gets to research three different Americans they believe are courageous, and nominate one of them for the tournament. They have to have three examples something courageous this person has done, and write a well-developed argumentative essay describing why they believe this is the most courageous American. Once all of the essays are submitted and graded, the brackets are made and the tournament begins!

Brackets are created by randomly assigning each person nominated a number. Each number is drawn out of a hat, and contestants are placed on the bracket when their number is drawn. This allows for random assignment and no "rigged" brackets. 

The Rounds 

Included in my FREE TpT resource (you can access HERE)  is a detailed description of how to run the tournament. You can purchase the paid product for access to all of the assignments. At the end of each round, students vote on who they think should move on from each bracket. As people are eliminated, students must choose contestants remaining in the tournament to complete their assignments on, so by the last round, they are experts on the final two. 

Our 2018 brackets 

By the end of the tournament, the students are so invested in one of the two contestants and are very passionate about who they believe should win. I had my media specialist enlarge a simple version of brackets (included in my free TpT resource) which I hang in the hallway and update as each round is completed. I often hear students in the hallway discussing the winners from each round and why so-and-so should have beaten so-and-so. Not only are my classes engaged, but the entire school keeps tabs on how the tournament is progressing. 

This takes time, but the students are engaged, motivated, and they connect to these people who can serve as incredible roles models and examples of courage. They learn about people they have never heard of before. My high-school students love it, and I know yours will too!