My first adaptation is the most popular with my students. It is not graded (I have found grades unnecessary when students perform before their classmates) and is a way of breaking the routine of the school year. The assignment is not limited to a specific historical period and most captures the spirit of the Steve Allen program. Students are asked to read a biography of their choice. There are no limits on their choice other than that every student in the class must choose a different subject (Bear Bryant has been the most popular choice). I then divide the students into groups of four or five, with each group getting a forty-five minute period to perform. I serve as the moderator. The students are instructed to become the subject of their biography. Not only must they share information about the subject of the biography, but they must take on the subject's personality. They are also instructed to give thought to the points of agreement and difference between their subjects and the other members of their group. They must also dress in a way that suggests their subject (nothing elaborate- a crown for royalty, a sword for a warrior, a football for Bear Bryant). It is also assumed that the historical figures are informed about what has happened since their deaths and can thus can offer opinions on a wide variety of subjects, but always within the context of their own historical perspective. When the students are not well prepared, the real pressure is on the moderator to keep the discussion going, but, more often than not, the students take over and the moderator rarely has anything to say. What makes this so much fun is the spontaneity of the assignment. Things are said or happen that one could never anticipate. In one instance, Cleopatra brought a snake, which became excited and defecated on Napoleon's hat. What a mess!