The program will be on Sunday, October 21st at 2pm. It is completely free to attend. You can RSVP at 302-295-2388 or at kpeterson@dehistory.org. I hope to see you there!

Air Mobility Command Museum

1301 Heritage Road

Dover Air Force Base, DE 19902

So we are in the midst of National History Day season and I just wanted to check in to see how your research is coming? Has anyone found something really interesting that you weren’t expecting to find? Where is the coolest place you have gone to do research? I just can’t wait to see all your projects this year at the State competition!

Also, I want to remind everyone that our national history day facebook page and twitter accounts are up and running. Please like/follow them so that we can all support each other as we go through the year.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/National-History-Day-in-Delaware/441194849260305

Twitter: @NHDinDE

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 Native Americans and the theme is Rights and Responsibilities in History, a natural topic would be treaty rights. Now from there, you would consider the resources you have available to you—perhaps your local historical society—and possibly choose a Native American/U.S. treaty based in your state’s history. Your process might look something like this:

Theme: Rights and Responsibilities in History
Interest: Native Americans
Topic: Treaty Rights
Issue: 1788 Fort Schuyler Treaty

Or, if you’re interested in Women’s Rights and the theme is the Individual in History, you might choose voting rights. Next, consider where you might find further information on voting rights like a public library. After a library search and reading several texts about the era, you identify the women’s suffrage movement as a topic, and then a leader in the struggle for the vote, Alice Paul. In this case, your process looks like this:

Theme: Individual in History
Interest: Women’s Rights
Topic: Suffrage Movement
Issue/Individual: Alice Paul

Or what if you are interested in The Civil War and the theme is Turning Points in History? You might read about the different battles. Utilizing the internet, you can take virtual tours and learn about different battles through the National Park Service. For instance, http://www.nps.gov/gett takes you to The Battle of Gettysburg or http://www.nps.gov/mana will take you to the battle of Bull Run. Pay close attention to other recommended resources as you read. They may point you to further reading on your topic. After reading the websites, you decide the turning point in The Civil War is The Battle of Gettysburg. The process looks like this:

Theme: Turning Points in History
Interest: The Civil War
Topic: Battles
Issue/Events: The Battle of Gettysburg

Or what if you are interested in science and the theme is Innovation in History? You might research medical discoveries that changed the world like the discovery of penicillin or isolating DNA. Look for resources in libraries, excellent web sites and history of science museums. The process for narrowing your topic and connecting with the theme might follow this sequence:

Theme: Innovation in History
Interest: Science
Topic: Medical Discoveries
Issue/Discovery: Penicillin

Sometimes just looking through the local paper can give you a great idea for a topic! Check out today’s Headline from The New Journal, can you come up with a topic from this article? Leave your idea in the comment section below!

http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20120928/NEWS/309280032/Pa-refinery-gets-new-life-fracking-gas-facility

In the meantime, here is some important information you will need to keep you up-to-date!

This year’s state compeition will be on April 20, 2013 at the Stanton Campus, Del Tech

Our Twitter Account: @NHDinDelaware

Our Facebook page: NationalHistoryDayin DE (be careful, there are actually two pages out there, look for the most recent one, unfortunately I don’t have access to the other one to make changes or take it down!)

My contact information if you have any questions: Kathryne Peterson, 302-295-2388, kpeterson@dehistory.org

Also, I am looking for a student (or a group of students) to document their work on their NHD project through pictures, writing and video. I woudl like to get one submission from each category. If you are interested, please contact me and let me know what category you will be working on.

If you have any questions about registration, please contact Ellen Rendle (erendle@dehistory.org) or Kathryne Peterson (kpeterson@dehistory.org).

The National Humanities medals honor achievements in history, literature, education and cultural policy. For the first time ever, a K-12 education program received the National Humanities Medal.  The citation for National History Day was for being “a program that inspires in American students a passion for history. Each year more than half a million children from across the country compete in this event, conducting research and producing websites, papers, performances, and documentaries to tell the human story.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the President and your peers for doing work that you love – helping students understand and appreciate history,” said Gorn. “NHD represents the most ambitious humanities learning model for middle and high school students in the United States today. I have witnessed firsthand that the study of history can change the life of a young person far beyond this program. These students achieve not only academically but are also prepared for life.”

“NHD is one of the nation’s most successful educational efforts in the humanities and much of the credit goes to Cathy Gorn,” said James F. Harris, chairman of the NHD board of trustees. “For 30 years, Gorn has dedicated herself to bringing history to life for students from across the nation and even the world. She is truly one of our nation’s unsung heroes, working each day to help ensure our students are prepared for college, the workforce and their responsibility as U.S. citizens.”

What began as a series of contests operating out of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio is today an international, year-long academic program for 6th to 12th graders focused on historical research.  NHD operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and is expanding internationally in Europe, China, Indonesia  and South Korea, serving more than half a million children annually with its unique approach to the hands-on learning of history. 

NHD, a non-profit organization, has long been the beneficiary of National Endowment for the Humanities support in its efforts to find creative ways to strengthen teaching of the humanities in American schools. NEH grants helped grow NHD, beginning in 1978 as a pilot start-up project to its current status as a

National History Day                                                                                                           February 13, 2010

self-sustaining organization. NEH support has proven to be catalytic, too, as numerous foundations and corporate and private donors have made critical gifts in recent years.

The impact of National History Day goes far beyond the annual contest.  A recent comprehensive study by Rockman et al found that students who participate in NHD develop a range of college and career-ready skills, and outperform their peers on state standardized tests across all subjects – including science and math.

Gorn said she is as proud of the National History Day winners as she is of the students who find a way to improve their education overall through their participation in the yearly program.  She cites two remarkable examples in the last few years:

• Along with their teacher, three students from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois helped change history in the famous “Mississippi Burning” case.  The students selected the 1964 murders of civil rights workers in Philadelphia, Mississippi as their National History Day Project, creating a documentary that presented important new evidence and helped convince the state of Mississippi to investigate, reopen the case and convict Edgar Ray Killen for the murders.

• A special education student, whose former principal believed could not learn, created a documentary for National History Day as part of his history class, the only mainstream class he took.  His first National History Day project went to the state finals, and in his second year of participation, he was a finalist in the annual contest.  That same student was able to transition to all honors classes, with much of his progress attributed to the critical thinking and analysis skills he learned in developing National History Day projects.

“NHD works because it applies a research-based methodology, specifically engaging students in rigorous research, connecting teacher practice and instruction to student achievement, and providing students and teachers career-ready skills they can use outside the classroom,” Gorn said. 

“Students have always told us how their NHD experience has changed their life, both in their academics and their careers. History not only teaches students about the stories of our past, but is vital to creating a generation of young people who can apply these lessons to the future,” said author and journalist Cokie Roberts, a member of the NHD Honorary Cabinet.

In addition to National History Day, this year’s honorees included Kwame Anthony Appiah, John Ashbery, Robert Darnton, Andrew Delbanco, Charles Rosen, Teofilo Ruiz, Ramón Saldívar and Amartya.  In 1990, the late historian Dr. David Van Tassel won the predecessor to the National Humanities Medal – the Charles Frankel Prize – for his role as founder and president of National History Day.  

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About National History Day

National History Day (NHD) is a year-long academic organization for elementary and secondary school students. Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide, participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring, at local, state and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in a national competition each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park. Visit www.nhd.org. Follow us on Twitter: @nationalhistory or find us on Facebook: National History Day.

Concordia International School Shanghai offers a unique educational opportunity. Two high school teacher/student pairs will be selected to take part in a travel-study program examining key events of the 20th century related to Mao Zedong and the Long March. The travel-study program visits several sites in China as the participants join Concordia teachers and students retracing parts of the Long March, visiting sites key to the development of the Chinese Communist Party, staying in the caves in Yan’an used by the Communists during the decades-long civil war and discussing history, culture, and current events with locals.

While 2012 is the inaugural year for students and teachers from around the world to participate in Mao’s Long March: The Events, Personalities and Impact, 2012 also marks the third year that the trip will be part of the Concordia International School Shanghai High School Educational Travel Program. Mark Johnson, Humanities teacher at Concordia International School Shanghai and Coordinator of National History Day, East Asia, will lead the ten-day trip. Mark Johnson is also the recipient of the 2011 Award for Global Understanding from the National Council for the Social Studies.

Eligibility: This opportunity is available to High School Students and Teachers (Prior knowledge of Chinese history or language is not required)
Trip dates: September 20-29, 2012
Application Deadline: April 9, 2012
Costs: Concordia International School Shanghai will pay for all trip-related expenses within China; participants selected to take part are responsible for travel arrangements and costs to get to and from Shanghai
Contact: longmarch@concordiashanghai.org

For more information on this opportunity, the application process and past study trips, please visit: http://wwwconcordiashanghai.org/academics/long-march

 As part of our six-day, six-night program, you will:

Walk in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre Experience the home of a southern sympathizer at Tudor Place Historic House and Garden Immerse yourself in Lincoln’s ideas at President Lincoln’s Cottage Walk the halls of Cedar Hill, home of the famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass

Come away from your week in Washington familiar with: an array of virtual tours, the oratory skills to get your students on their feet performing speeches by Lincoln and Douglass; comfortable taking students on content-driven experiential learning adventures; and excited about using classroom drama to help historic characters come alive!

$600 registration fee includes six nights of a shared room at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel and air transportation on American Airlines $1000 registration fee includes single room and air transportation All Fellows are eligible to obtain 3 graduate credit hours through Trinity Washington University for an additional fee of $375

To apply visit:

http://www.fords.org/home/education/teacher-programs/professional-development

Applications are due by March 30, 2012

Is there a minimal number of years the topic must be? 10 years old? 20 years old?
It depends on the topic, but the general rule of thumb is that a generation must have passed, or 25 years.

Is it okay for a student to focus on a person involved in a major revolution and reform?  Two years ago, students were encouraged NOT to focus on the innovator for the innovation theme.
The person who is a leader can be part of the research but the research should not have the person as the focal point. This year’s theme is Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. The research should be on the event.

Would the discovery of the antibiotic penicillin fit in this theme?
Penicillin would be a good topic. Make sure you build the context of why the discovery of penicillin was discovered at this particular time and place in history. What was going on socially, politically, economically…? Think about how you will connect it to the theme.  Are you looking at the discovery of penicillin as a revolution, or a reaction or a reform?  Did it have an immediate impact and promote long term change?  

Is the theme on U.S. history or can it be world history?
Yes, you may certainly choose a world history topic. National History Day is about local, state, national and world history topics.

Can website projects add video clips?
Yes, web site entries can have video clips. Please review the NHD Rule Book, pages 19-21.
*During this discussion, we are focusing on the 2012 theme, Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History. Please refrain from asking unrelated questions at this time.*

Does the project have to be about a war or any other revolution, for example, the video game revolution?
Revolution does not mean just war- think about the food revolution, the fashion revolution, an economic revolution… Please encourage your students to look at all types of revolution.  A great research project always explores impact and change.  When we look at the video game revolution it is really too soon to see what long term change will occur because of video games.  A great research project has many secondary sources to support the primary sources. Historians have not written enough secondary resources on video games to make it a viable research topic yet.

I’d like to know if a battle, such as one of the many in the Civil War, could be counted as a topic. I have had some students ask me. I could see that the Civil War would be a revolution, although of course too big a topic, but what about the Battle of Gettysburg, etc.?
A battle is not a good topic for this theme unless new military tactics were used to reform the way war was fought. The Battle of Gettysburg would be a great one for next year’s theme; Turning Points in History.

It says on the “Theme Sheet,” that a project does not need to cover all three words of the theme equally. Is a project that mainly addresses “Revolution” and “Reaction” stronger than a project that mostly covers “Reaction” and “Reform?”
No word is weighted. The key to matching the topic to the theme is the articulation by the student. Make sure students are able to state why the research project fits the theme and provide the evidence.

What is the difference between a “revolution” and simply, a big change? Can something be a “revolution” if it is simply something new? Thus, is an innovation or invention a revolution?
Think about long term change. How many people did it impact and how significant was the change?

Can the “Revolution” be a “Reaction?”  ie. A revolution occurred as a reaction to…
Yes. Almost every Revolution begins with a reaction.

If something is “revolutionary,” such as an invention, does that make it inherently, a “revolution?”
Yes, an invention can be revolutionary. The key here is what is the long term impact and how did the invention change the course of history?

Should projects address all three parts of the theme?
No. Certain topics will lend themselves well to addressing all parts and others will be directly related to one word in the theme.  The judges will be listening for the how well the student(s) articulates why the research topic fits the theme.

What about the change in the US public educational system from being only for the wealthy or lucky to being available to all? What about smaller, more specific topics related to teaching, such as the change in language education from audio-lingual to content-based?
You will need to narrow the topic and think of a time that there was a revolution in education. For example, Title IX or when girls were allowed to enter higher education… is this a revolution or reform?  Why did the change take place at a certain time in history?

I have a student interest in the broad topic of Animal Rights. I am not sure if there is a sub-topic that fits the theme. I am wondering if I should re-direct to a different topic?
That is a very broad topic. The student should consider what aspect of, or event involving animal rights would be revolutionary, a reaction, or cause reform? What about the history of PETA or the humane society, as a reaction to animal cruelty.

I have a student interested in rocketry as a general topic. Would perhaps the space race or the invention of rocketry fit within the theme?
Perhaps the student could focus on some aspect of a reaction to an event in space history. For example, the U.S. reaction to the Soviet launch of Sputnik or safety reforms of the Space Shuttle program in the aftermath of the Challenger disaster.

What are your suggestions for a student that is interested in a topic with a pro-life theme?
If the student is interested and wants to be informed about the topic, and can find a strong connection with the theme, then it is a good topic for that student. My suggestion would be to thoroughly research both sides. The student should understand that National History Day is not a forum to convert peers, teachers and judges to one way of thinking about topics, but a rigorous research program.

 
As we work with students’ thesis statements, would you say that a topic is more effective if there is a direct link between the revolution, or reason for revolution, and the reform?  For example, the revolutionary group accomplishing what it set out to change would be stronger than the indirect outcomes?
Students are not required to address revolution, reaction AND reform. If they choose to do so, direct outcomes are certainly relevant to a topic about revolution, but indirect outcomes may be relevant as well and may provide additional context and address the significance and impact of the overall topic.

I have a student that is presently working with a person that has done several major reforms. Any suggestions on whether they should cover all the reforms or just one of them? If one reform, what ideas do you have to help them figure out the best one?
Yes, focus on one reform. I would ask the student which reform he/she is interested in?  Then have the student begin to think about how the reform fits with the theme.  How will the reform answer the questions about immediate impact and long term change? And I would check to make sure there are enough secondary sources on the specific reform to justify a full historical research project.

We want to focus on a project with the theme of special education. Would this be revolution, reaction, or reform?
The reform was likely caused by a reaction, but it depends on what your specific topic is and how you approach it.

Let’s say a student’s topic only addresses 2 aspects- i.e. Reaction and reform. How would you suggest they craft their Thesis statement? Would they then need to address in their process paper why the focus covered only 2 aspects?
Students are only required to address one part of the theme: revolution, reaction or reform. Some projects can be linked to more than one. Some cannot – and that’s fine. For the thesis statement, it is best to clearly state what the student is studying and how it links to the theme. “The 1960 sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina were an important reaction to civil injustice because they were organized at grassroots level, were non-violent, and gained national attention.”

In general, many students have a broad idea of topics. How do you advise helping narrow down and focus topics and supporting them to direct towards the theme?
I would have lots of time to discuss with the students what each word in the theme means.  Can a revolution be political? Can it be economic? Can it be cultural?  What are some examples of each? Have the students go on a hunt and make a list of all the possible topics they can find in the textbook under each word.  Use the sample topic list and the theme book. Assign five different topics to three students each class period.  The students need to reseach the topic on the internet just to say two or three words how it fits into the theme.  Have fun with topics!

Would the impact of Steve Jobs fit in this theme?  He was a man who revolutionized technology and he just passed away.  Would he also be considered as history?  
This question provides the opportunity to encourage topics that are not recent. Fifty years from now, a student might consider Steve Jobs as a topic for NHD.  For now, his contributions are too recent to allow historical perspective. It is difficult to step back in order to see the significance of the topic or the impact over time.  In general, good topics for NHD are those that are complete and 25 or more years old.
 
My topic is based on a person who has done many things in his lifetime. When I do my project do you have any suggestions on wether presenting all the things he has done or just touch on one thing and try to make it bigger and bolder than the other things he has done?
It is best to relate your project to the theme as closely as you can. So if your subject did many things, but they all fit one part of the theme, you can cover his or her entire life if you want to. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was best known for his Civil Rights work. So you could talk about Dr. King’s life as a reaction to the injustice he encountered in American society. Or, if you are researching someone like Benjamin Franklin, you might choose to focus on one aspect of his life (if you want to!). Franklin was an inventor, a diplomat, a scientist, and a philosopher, among other things. You could just focus on how Franklin’s scientific research produced revolutionary changes in society, or perhaps how Poor Richard’s Almanac was a reaction to American life.