2014 Theme: Rights & Responsibilities

Explore history through in-depth research in relation to the theme using Primary & Secondary

sources

Competition Categories

Choose between five categories:

A Historcial PaperA Museum Quality Exhibit*A 10 minute Documentary*A Dramatic Performance**

An Interactive Website*

•* Presentations may be either individual or group work. No groups larger than three students.•** Performances can be individual or in groups. No groups larger than 5 students

Exhibit Examples

An exhibit is a museum quality, visual representation of the research and illustrated an

interpretation of the facts.

10 Minute Documentary

A documentary is a multimedia storytelling platform that includes photographs, news clips,

recorded interviews, and other primary sources:

DoDEA example that went to Nationals

Dramatic Performance

A performance is a dramatic portrayal of your topic’s significance in history and must be

original in production. It must be scripted by you based on research of your chosen topic. Your

performance should have dramatic appeal, but not at the expense of historical information.

Performances may not exceed 10 minutes in length.

Interactive Website

By developing a collection of web pages, connected byhyperlinks, you create a self-guided experience for the viewer that demonstrates your interpretation of the topic and theme.

Entries in this category should include primary and secondary sources, interactive multimedia, and historical analysis. It should incorporate textual and non-textual photographs, maps, music, descriptions, interpretations, and sources to engage and inform viewers.

Historical Paper

A paper is the traditional form of presenting historical research. Various types of creative writing (for example, fictional diaries, poems, etc.) are permitted, but must conform to all

general and category rules. Your Historical Paper should be grammatically correct and well

written.

Papers must be no less than 1,500 and no more than 2,500 student composed or created words

in length.

Common Elements in Projects

• Title page• Annotated bibliography in MLA or Turabian

style• 500 word process paper (except for historical

paper)

Beware of Plagiarism! You must acknowledge in your annotated bibliography all sources

used in your entry. Failure to credit sources is plagiarism and will result in disqualification.

Choosing Your Topic

Rights and Responsibilities

This year’s theme, Rights and Responsibilities in History, is broad. You can choose a topic that allows you to explore your interests in Asian Studies: science, politics, the arts, education, inventions, philosophy, etc.

It’s your right to find a topic that you want to find out more about, but you also have responsibilities: to choose carefully and develop your project in ways that best use your talents and abilities.

Topic Selection Process:

THEME

INTEREST

BROAD TOPIC

NARROW TOPIC

THESIS

Your Topic

Effective National History Day entries not only describe an event or a development, but they also analyze and place it in its historicalcontext. To help you draw conclusions about your topic’s significance in history, ask yourself the following questions:

How is my topic important in history? How was my topic significant in history in relation to the National History Day theme? How did my topic develop over time? How did my topic influence history? How did the events and atmosphere (social, economic, political, and cultural aspects) of my topic’s time period influence my topic in history? What were the causes and effects of my topic? What are the differing perspectives/viewpoints on my topic?

Your Topic: A Snapshot in Time

• In studying rights & responsibilities in history you do not want to recreate the event but isolate a period in time in which history was deeply influenced or changed – this can be positive or negative.

• An issue may have multiple stories to tell.

• It’s your job as the researcher to decide which story is the most historically interesting and the one you wish to tell.

Atomic testing on Bikini Atoll

Your Topic: Frame it in Context

• In the research of a topic, it’s important to study the context and always ask questions about the time and place.

• Why at this particular time and at this certain place did the events evolve to produce the outcome?

• Researchers should explore both the intended and unintended outcomes. Rosa Parks

Your Topic: NOT a mini-biography

• Keep your topic options open and broad: the famous, infamous and ordinary people of history.

• “History” is an expansive subject across all disciplines and periods.

• Look locally at the history in our community.

• Move beyond the tendency to create a biographical project and find an atypical approach that will place your person in a historical context.

Use Research to Narrow Your Topic

• Is it possible to do a thorough job of documenting and analyzing your individual in 500 words of exhibit text, ten minutes of script, or a 2,500 word research paper?

• Create an outline of your topic that starts with a one or two paragraph overview and list three to five of the most important events connected to this person.

A Workable Topic?? Ready for Research!

• Rely almost exclusively on Primary & Secondary sources.

• NO Wikipeia!!! EVER!• Use academic sources

and websites – not blogs or editorials.

• Critical sites:- the National Archives- the Library of Congress- Presidential Libraries- University Databases & Archives

Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words!

• Are there photos of your individual, event, invention, etc?

• With other people? (important or otherwise)

• “Doing” what they’re famous for?

• Look for “off-camera”, revealing moments that seem to capture the feeling of the era.

• Use additional images to express historical content.

• Photos are to enhance a project, not to be used as filler.

Place!!! What’s left today??

• Can you visit (literally!) the birthplace, house, laboratory, work center, battleground, final resting place of your event or individual?

• Are maps available of the site?

• Is there a museum, memorial, hospital, monument, etc. dedicated to your person or the outcome of their influence?

It’s All About the SOURCES!

• Is there audio or video of your individual?

• Are they still alive? Can YOU interview:- them!- family members- friends- colleagues/students- scholars- biographers

• Are taped performances, recordings or speeches available?

• Are there diaries, news clips, letters, or journals available?

• Are there physical artifacts still around or in use? i.e. invention, book, vaccine, etc.

It’s All About the IMPACT!

Nationals 2009