Our first major project this year is inspired by the National History Day competition held every year at the University of Maryland. This year’s topic is Rights and Responsibilities in History. Although the national competition is restricted to middle and high school students, our school district, the Sacramento County Office of Education, and the State of California provide an opportunity for 4th and 5th graders to showcase their work as historians in a special 2-dimensional display (poster) category.
Because students will be picking their own topics, most of the work on this project will be done at school. I will guide students through the process of conducting research, taking notes, finding and analyzing primary sources, writing an annotated bibliography, and constructing a poster to communicate what they learned as it relates to the theme. Due dates for each component of the project are listed below.
Students have the option of working on this project individually or with a partner. While working in partnerships has advantages, it also has disadvantages. Please review the contract form with your child and discuss the pros and cons of working with another person. Since you will have to be involved in facilitating meetings between your child and his/her partner, you have the final say as to whether the project will be an individual effort or a partnership effort.
Signed contract with statement of topic.
An annotated bibliography (research sources and what the student learned from each)
A poster that clearly connects to the History Day theme of Turning Points in History
Friday, October 4
Decide on a topic. Turn in the History Day Contract signed by student and parent.
Wednesday, November 20
Annotated bibliography due
Wednesday, December 18
Sketch of your poster layout due
Wedneday, January 22
Finished poster turned in
Wednesday, February 5
District History Day
Thursday, February 13
County Registration Deadline
Thursday, February 27
Special Awards Deadline
Saturday, March 15
County History Day
Friday – Sunday May 2 - 4
State History Day
In addition, students who would like to participate in the optional District History Day event will need to write a process paper of no more than 500 words describing the work they did to research and create their poster prior to the event which is scheduled for February 5.