National History Day Project 2015-'16

National History Day 2015-'16

Why participate in National History Day?

In short, because it gives students an opportunity to have "hands-on and in-depth experience by studying the past."

To view a short video clip on just what National History Day entails,
follow this link;

http://www.nhd.org/Contest.htm

National History Day 2016

The committee of teachers that make up National History Day Team welcome you to explore this year’s theme, Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History. This theme is broad enough in scope to encourage investigation of topics in world history, across any geographic area or time period.

You can begin brainstorming for possible topics by thinking about subjects you are interested in, whether it is science, sports, art, travel, culture, or even specific people. Make note of any areas of interest, creating a list of possible subjects. There is also a sample topic list available to you at the Nat’l History Day website.

Throughout this process, keep in mind that your topic must relate to Exploration, Encounter, and Exchange in history and must be historical, not a current event.

Exploration likely conjures up visions of travelers setting out on a journey to discover new lands. Consider the voyages of Vasco da Gama, Hernán Cortéz, or Ferdinand Magellan. Certainly we can see exploration in Christopher Columbus’ attempt to find a quicker sea route to the Indies, where spices and other desired goods could be found and then sold back in Europe.

Encounters are often unexpected and unpredictable, and they reveal much about those involved.

Exchange It is impossible to make a journey of exploration, encounter new ideas, and not have some ideas exchanged between the groups of people.

Keeping the theme in mind you will be choosing and investigating a topic, collecting sources, analyzing those sources and effectively communicating what you've found in a research paper or in a tri-fold exhibit for display.

Using the link below, scroll down and select from databases with the VRC

http://xaaa.calypso.scoolaid.net/bin/vrc/vrcList?level=hs&p=h1

username: sayvillehs password: shs123

You are required to use Primary Source Documents whenever possible. Remember PSD are artifacts created by individuals during a particular period in history. This could be a letter, speech, photograph or journal entry. A secondary source document is everything else, a source that was
not created first-hand by someone who participated in the historical era.

HELPFUL RESOURCES;
Using the link below, select from databases with the VRC

First Up, for Primary source documents and Secondary sources under the column History and Geography use;

The History Study Center -this database covers global history from ancient times to the present day. Contents include reference books, essays, journal articles, historical newspaper and magazine articles, maps, rare books, government documents, transcripts of historical speeches, images and video clips. Study Units offer material on over 500 historical topics. It is suitable for high school students looking for quick and reliable facts on a historical topic, and researchers examining hard-to-find primary source texts.

also found under History & Geography are…

ABC CLIO's World History Ancient Civilizations - covers early human history around the globe-from prehistoric times to the beginnings of the Renaissance.

ABC CLIO's World History Modern Era -covering history from the Renaissance to today, covers a broad range of topics including the evolution of modern Europe; concurrent developments in Asia, Africa, and the Islamic world; the global impact of the Industrial Revolution and much more.

Another great resource within the VRC is the middle column under Biographies;

The Biography Reference Center- A comprehensive collection of Biographies on Notable Personalities with many top-ranked biographical reference collections. Reference sources include Great Lives From History, Britanica Biographies and hundreds of individual biographies.

World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras covers early human history around the globe—from prehistoric times to the beginnings of the Renaissance. - See more at: https://www.lyrasis.org/Pages/productdetails.aspx?pid=4F35D85A-3001-E111-B2CE-00155D0A1702#sthash.788rKSWA.dpuf