Transcript National History Day research competition

National History Day
Research Competition
2015
National History Day (NHD)
Web Sites
• National History Day contest http://www.nhd.org/
• National History Day in Missouri
http://www.nhdmo.org/
Specifics
• Theme: Leadership and Legacy in History
• Students can choose to research any topic that fits
the annual theme.
• Students can choose to work alone or in groups of
up to 5.
• Students can choose what product to create to show
what they learned.
Regional Competition
 Documentaries, Websites, and Papers –
begins February 17, 2015
 Documentaries, Websites, and Papers due at regional
office by COB on February 13, 2015
 Performances & Exhibits - February 25, 2015
 Performance and Exhibits judged “live” on February
25, 2015, 4-7 PM at Columbia College.
I have an idea for a topic, now what?
• Selecting a National History Day topic is a process of
gradually narrowing down the area of history (period or
event) that interests you to a manageable subject.
• For example, if you're interested in the History of
Monarchies and the theme is Leadership and Legacy
in History, a natural topic would be Queen Elizabeth I.
Now from there, you would consider the resources you
have available to you—perhaps www.royal.gov.uk the
official website of the British Monarchy- where you can
access facts and even speeches.
Narrow down the topic and connect
it to the theme...
• Your process might look something like this:
• Theme: Leadership and Legacy in History
Interest: Monarchies
Topic: Queen Elizabeth I
Issue: The Defeat of the Spanish Armada –
England’s Rise to World Power
More sample topic ideas
For Topic ideas related to the current theme…
• http://www.nhd.org/images/uploads/web%20versi
on.pdf
Benefits of NHD
 Students learn in depth about a topic of their choice.
 Students choose the topic, group, and product that best fits
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their needs/learning styles.
Students learn how to conduct research using primary sources.
This project will give students an advantage in the upper grades
when doing research projects.
Students learn how to manage a long-term research project.
Students can learn new technology and skills needed to create a
web page or documentary.
Students improve critical thinking and processing skills.
Primary resources
• Research must focus on locating primary resources.
• Primary sources are original materials. They are from
the time period involved and have not been filtered
through interpretation or evaluation.
• Primary sources are original materials on which other
research is based. They present original thinking,
report a discovery, or share new information.
Examples of Primary Resources
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Artifacts (e.g. coins, plant specimens, fossils, furniture, tools, clothing, all from the time under study);
Audio recordings (e.g. radio programs)
Diaries;
Interviews (e.g., oral histories, telephone, e-mail);
Journal articles published in peer-reviewed publications;
Letters;
Newspaper articles written at the time;
Original Documents (i.e. birth certificate, will, marriage license, trial transcript);
Photographs
Proceedings of Meetings, conferences and symposia;
Records of organizations, government agencies (e.g. annual report, treaty, constitution, government
document);
Speeches;
Survey Research (e.g., market surveys, public opinion polls);
Video recordings (e.g. television programs);
Works of art, architecture, literature, and music (e.g., paintings, sculptures, musical scores, buildings,
novels, poems).
Possible NHD Projects
• Paper
• Exhibit
• Documentary
• Performance
• Web Site
Exhibit Example
• What a Book Can Do - Rachel Carson's Silent Spring
Launches the Environmental Movement
• What a Book Can Do - Process Paper and
Bibliography
Documentary Examples
• It's a Jungle Out There: Upton Sinclair Turns the
Tables on the Chicago Meatpackers and the Food
Industry
• The Gray Wolf Reintroduction: A Scientific
Approach to Protect the Yellowstone Ecosystem
Performance Examples
• Weakening the Wall: Hidden 20th Century Turning
Points
• Weakening the Wall - Annotated Bibliography
• The Golden Age of Radio: Turning Points in
American Culture
• The Golden Age of Radio - Process Paper
• The Golden Age of Radio - Annotated Bibliography
Web Site Examples
• The Camp David Accords: Foundation for a Middle
Eastern Peace
• The Camp David Accords - Process Paper
• The Camp David Accords - Annotated Bibliography
• Solving the Enigma: Legacies of a Secret World War II
Code
• Solving the Enigma - Process Paper
• Solving the Enigma - Annotated Bibliography
Additional Examples
• Additional examples of papers, exhibits,
documentaries, performances, and web sites may be
found on the following page.
http://www.nhd.org/StudentProjectExamples.htm
How to proceed.
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Pick a topic you are interested in.
Ask for help when you need it.
DO NOT PROCRASTINATE.
Plan your time wisely.
Use class time wisely.
Meet your deadlines.