Read about this WebQuest, and then go to Process for step-by-step instructions.
Central investigation question
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Introduction
March Madness is the time of the year when NCAA teams from all over the country compete in a complicated tournament to find out who is the best. A total of 65 teams play a series of games over 3 weeks. The winner is crowned the national champion – the best in the country.
In this webquest, we’ll look at the geography of the tournament, where the teams come from, how far they travel, and the city where they hope they’ll meet for the Final Four.
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Task
In this webquest, you’ll explore the geography of March Madness: where the teams are from, where they’ll play their games, and where they ultimately hope to play in the Final Four. You’ll also pick one city in March Madness that you’d most like to visit.
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Central investigation questions
Which team in March Madness has the advantage geographically?
Which March Madness city would you most like to visit?
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Process
Step 1: Who has the edge?
Research the 65 teams in March Madness and where they have to play. Use the spreadsheet MM3A to record the teams’ home cities and where they’ll play. Then use Google Maps to find the distance they’ll need to travel.
Based on the above information, who has the shortest and longest distance to travel? (You can sort on the distance column.) How do you think this will affect their performance?
After each round, track the wins and losses and see if the distance is correlated to performance.
Step 2: Where is March Madness?
There are many great cities that are hosts to March Madness game. A list and more information about each can be found below.
Use the map in MM3B to map each city. Then learn a little about each city by completing the organizer MM3C.
Step 3: Where would you most like to visit?
Based on everything you’ve learned about the cities that are hosting March Madness tournament games, which one would you most like to visit? Write a short paragraph about which you’d like to visit, why you chose that city, and what you’d like to do while you were there.
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Resources
Use these web resources to conduct your research and investigation.
Resources for Step 2
The cities of March Madness:
Dayton, OH
Anaheim, CA
Denver, CO
Omaha, NE
Washington, DC
Birmingham, AL
Little Rock, AR
Raleigh, NC
Tampa, FL
Charlotte, NC
Phoenix, AZ
Detroit, MI
Houston, TX
San Antonio, TX
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(This handout is available in Word.)
March Madness – Handout MM3B
Name:
Date:
Period:
Instructions: Using the resources in Step 2 of the webquest to find information about 8 cities of your choice from the sites hosting March Madness games.
City:
Avg. temperature in March:
What is the city best known for?
What interesting history happened in this city?
What interesting things can you do there?
Other interesting facts:
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Evaluation
Step 1 – Who has the edge?
1 (beginning) – A spreadsheet with 20 or fewer teams and missing or inaccurate mileage was created; no hypothesis on how this might affect the tournament results was given.
2 (developing) – A spreadsheet with 40+ teams and accurate mileage was created; hypothesis on how this might affect the tournament results was given.
3 (accomplished) – A spreadsheet with all 50+ teams and accurate mileage was created; hypothesis on how this might affect the tournament results was given.
4 (exemplary) – A spreadsheet with all 65 teams and accurate mileage was created; good hypothesis on how this might affect the tournament results was given.
Step 2 – Where is March Madness?
1 (beginning) – Map is incomplete or inaccurate; information fewer than 6 cities is included and/or does not show adequate research.
2 (developing) – Map is complete and somewhat accurate; information about 6 or more cities is relatively complete, showing some research.
3 (accomplished) – Map is complete and mostly accurate; information about 8 cities is complete, showing adequate research.
4 (exemplary) – Map is complete and accurate; information about 8 or more cities is complete and interesting, showing good research and thought.
Step 3 – Where would you most like to visit?
1 (beginning) – Paragraph shows little thought about a city and gives no reasons for its selection.
2 (developing) – Paragraph shows little thought about a city and gives few reasons for its selection.
3 (accomplished) – Paragraph shows good thought about a city and gives reasons for its selection.
4 (exemplary) – Paragraph shows excellent thought about a city and gives many reasons for its selection.