history fair handbook 2012-13

History Fair Handbook

“Turning Points in History”

2012-13

National History Day

For More Information Please Visit the National History Day Website:

http://www.nhd.org/

This purpose of this booklet is to guide your steps as you embark upon the wonderful world of History Fair.

Refer to the examples and fill out the worksheets inside as you complete your project. Please feel free to contact

your teacher or History Fair Coordinator with any questions or concerns that you may have about National History Day.

**This handbook was prepared by A. Pryor and some of it’s information was adapted from the

National History Day Website 2012-2013**

What is History Fair? History Fair is an exciting way for students to study and learn about historical issues, ideas, people, and events. At Parker Intermediate School, we strive for e x c e l - lence in education; and History Fair is an excellent way to teach research and organizational skills while foster-ing intel- lectual growth and academic achievement. In addi-tion to acquiring useful knowledge and perspectives on his-t o r i c a l events, students also have the opportunity to com-pete in a series of school-wide, district, regional, state, and n a t i o n a l competitions. This will allow students to develop and i m p r o v e critical-thinking, time management, and problem-solving skills that they can use now and in the future.

Turning Points in History This year’s theme is Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events. The dictionary defines “turning point” as a point at which a decisive change takes place. So a turn-ing point in history is more than just an important event that happened a long time ago. It is an idea, event or action that directly, and sometimes indirectly, caused change. This change could be social or cultural, affecting a society’s way of thinking or way of acting. It could be political, leading to new legislation or to a new govern-ment taking charge. It could be economic, affecting how goods are produced, bought and sold, or how much or how little a society has to spend on such items. As you begin to dig for information about the time period in which it occurred, remem-ber to search for where it happened, the people involved and what else was going on in that area at that time. In other words, you are studying the context of your topic. This is one of the most important aspects of historical research. Events do not just happen all by themselves — there are always factors involving time, place and peo-ple that influence the causes and effects. Don’t just think about how you understand the topic but also how people at the time thought about what was happening. It is important to examine the historical context of your topic so that you see your topic more clearly, understanding the “big picture.” Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events always have at least two sides, or opposing perspectives. Part of being a thorough researcher is looking at a topic from all angles to see the whole story. Discovering the historical background of your topic will allow you to do this. Now that you have a better idea of the historical context of your topic, you can narrow in on the turning point more precisely. What act, idea or event caused a change in how people thought or what they did? How about the effects: new ideas, new laws, new technologies, new cultural standards? And how did these develop over time? What was the end result? Your answers to these questions will provide the historical evi-dence you need to form a conclusion about the event’s significance in history and the impact that it had. Speaking of significance in history, don’t forget the very im-portant “in history” part of the theme. To fit the theme, your topic must truly be historical and not just a current event or recent idea. Remember that you can choose to focus on a turning point in local, state, national or world history.

7 Steps To A Successful Project

1. Choose a Topic that is UNIQUE

• Try to select a subject that no one else will choose

• Local, State, National, and Personal topics work well

2. Select a Topic with historical significance

• Make sure that your topic had a historical impact

• How did the world change as a result of this person,

idea, or event?

• Avoid topics that are too recent (ex. the protests of the Iraq war).

3. Choose a topic that is interesting to you

• Research is more fun when students investigate a subject that interests them

• REMEMBER: You will be working on this topic for quite some time

4. Pick a topic for which you can find both PRIMARY AND SECONDARY re-

sources

• Primary resources present first-hand/eyewitness accounts of the person, idea,

or event

• Secondary resources provide reference information

• A minimum of 15 Resources are required, but the more you collect, the better

(especially if they are Primary).

5. Select the type of project that will work best for you and your subject

• Backboards are excellent if you enjoy working with your hands and lots of

vivid images available

• Strong writers should develop a historical paper, especially if pictures of

your topic are limited

• Enjoy working with computers? Create a documentary. This is an excellent

project if you are able to collect primary in-person interviews

• Performances are excellent project types for topics with a strong, dynamic

storyline and for students who enjoy acting

• There is also a new website category. Contact your History Day Coordinator

or the National History Day website for details.

6666 Pick the Best Partner(s)

• Students can complete an individual or group (2-5 people) project

• Sometimes YOU are your own best partner

• Consider the following before selecting a partner: a) Who will bring out the

best in you and your project b) Just because they are my friend, does that

mean that I can really work well with them? c) How many activities do I/they

participate in? Will we have time to work together? d) Whose parents will

take us to the library? Will we be able to work at each others homes? e) What

are their work habits? Can we work together? Consistent and equal contribu-

tions are an integral part of a successful project (f) Also consider parent

schedules as they usually provide transportation, work spaces, support, etc...

7777 If you have questions, ASK, and most importantly:

DO YOUR BEST!!

Selecting A Topic

1. Make sure that your topic fits the theme. If you are unsure, contact

your Social Studies Teacher or History Day Coordinator.

~Ask yourself: This topic relates to the theme because….?

2. The topic should be narrow enough to be researched within the time

available. Remember, this project is due the week after Thanks

giving.

3. The topic should be significant. Students should be able to explain the

historical impact of their project.

~Why is it important for everyone to know about this person, idea,

or event? ~Did it have a significant social, political, and economic

impact?

~For students completing topics on local history: These topics often

have a significance beyond their locality. They illustrate something

about the human condition in general, or are helpful in symbolizing a

problem of wider significance.

4. Try not to select a topic that is too current or too early in history.

Choose a topic that is settled and has plenty of available resources (primary AND secondary).

The following is a list of possible topics from the National History Day booklet.

This list is not inclusive; rather, it is meant to provide a starting point for students,

teachers, and parents to begin brainstorming and developing ideas for History Fair entries.

History Fair Topic Ideas and Suggestions

Sample Topics Continued …

Make sure that the topic chosen is narrow and manageable. Do not forget that excellent

topics may also be found in local history.

History Fair Topic Ideas and Suggestions

RESEARCHING This is one of the most important steps in developing a successful history fair project.

RESOURCES

Documents, buildings, people, recordings, and any other provid-

ers of information used to interpret a topic are resources. It is

your job to select the most valuable and important sources for

your research. If the sources aren’t useful, it does not matter how

many you acquire. Use your sources to interpret how and why an

event occurred. Don’t assume that your sources contain the truth

about an event. Try to determine the purpose for the creation of

every source. This will help you make critical use of the infor-

mation you gather in your research.

TYPES OF RESOURCES

PRIMARY SOURCES are documents that give FIRST-HAND

or EYEWITNESS accounts of a particular person, idea, or event. Archival documents, auto-

biographies, manuscripts, diaries, personal collections, and photographs, are all primary

sources. Pictures, interviews, newspaper, magazine, and journal articles of all the era are

also first-hand accounts if written or taken at the time of the event.

SECONDARY SOURCES include encyclopedias, books, interviews, media productions, or

any other historical sources that seeks to explain or interpret an event after it has occurred.

The writer is NOT a participant or an eyewitness to the event.

EXAMPLES

Newspaper articles from the era Primary

Magazine articles written by an eyewitness Primary

Autobiographies Primary

Manuscript collections Primary

Archival documents Primary

Authorized Biographies Secondary

History Textbooks & Encyclopedias Secondary

Interviews with non-eyewitness Secondary

(ex. college professors, book authors, etc…)

WHERE CAN I FIND IT?

Information can be found in the most unlikely places. The easiest way to begin is in the

school or local library. Once those sources have been exhausted and you have narrowed your topic, other sources of information should be explored.

“Leave no stone unturned.”

You may be surprised where you

find your best information.

GREAT SEARCH SITES FOR PRIMARY SOURCES

-Archives -Historical Societies -Museums

-Churches -Personal Collections -Interviews

-Corporations -Live Documentary Footage -Government Offices

-Microfilm in Major Libraries -Recorded Oral History

SEARCH SITES FOR SECONDARY SOURCES

-Books -Interviews with Authors -Internet

-News Reporters -Documents -Magazine Articles

-University Libraries -Relatives/Friends -Encyclopedias

As you gather your research, you must also

write down the bibliographical information for

each resource. You will need this data when you

begin to assemble your annotated bibliography.

You Will Need the Following Info for Your Bibliography:

The full title of the source; the Author’s Name (First & Last); the publisher; the year of publication (the day, month, and year are needed for magazines and newspaper sources); the place of publication (the closest city); You will

also need the page numbers for magazines and newspapers; and a summary of important information found in each resource

More Details Available in the Next Section

**Suggestion: As you are researching, photocopy the cover and the copyright page of every book, magazine, journal, etc… that you use. Also use the bibliography worksheet to help you organize

your research information.

Writing Your Writing Your Writing Your Writing Your

Process Process Process Process

(Two(Two(Two(Two----Page) Page) Page) Page)

PaperPaperPaperPaper

ALL history fair projects (except for the historical paper) must be

accompanied by a TYPED two-page process paper. This paper

should be composed of approximately 500 words, at least five

paragraphs, and should not exceed two pages. It is best to start

with an outline of the information that you would like to include

in your paper. The following is a list of questions/guidelines that

you should answer and follow as you develop your process paper.

GUIDELINESGUIDELINESGUIDELINESGUIDELINES FORFORFORFOR YOURYOURYOURYOUR PROCESSPROCESSPROCESSPROCESS PAPERPAPERPAPERPAPER

• INTRODUCE YOUR TOPICINTRODUCE YOUR TOPICINTRODUCE YOUR TOPICINTRODUCE YOUR TOPIC

Briefly summarize your topic.

Why is it historically significant?

How does this topic relate to the theme?

• DESCRIBE THE PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED TO COMPLETE YOUR PRO-DESCRIBE THE PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED TO COMPLETE YOUR PRO-DESCRIBE THE PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED TO COMPLETE YOUR PRO-DESCRIBE THE PROCESS YOU FOLLOWED TO COMPLETE YOUR PRO-JECTJECTJECTJECT

Explain how you chose your topic.

Explain how you conducted your research.

Describe any important resources or significant information you discov-ered.

Explain how you selected your presentation category,

And the steps you took to create your project.

• CONCLUSIONCONCLUSIONCONCLUSIONCONCLUSION

Restate the significance of your topic and its relationship to the theme.

Annotated BibliographyAnnotated BibliographyAnnotated BibliographyAnnotated Bibliography

The Annotated Bibliography section, commonly called the Works Cited section, is a categorized list of documented re-sources that have been researched and used to develop your history fair project.

Every student is required to have a minimum

but NOT limited to —

fifteen (15) resources in their Annotated Bibliography.

The purpose of a bibliography is to give the proper credit to the texts, persons, and organization that assisted you with your re-search.

Sources must be sorted into primary and secondary sources. Then, they should be alphabetized and categorized into re-search types (books, magazines, interviews, journals, CD-ROMs, etc..) Each source should also be written according to the guidelines found in the current MLA Handbook. Examples of proper documentation for most resources can be found on the following pages.

Finally, every resource must contain an annotation. Annota-tions are brief explanations of the important information found in each resource. Guidelines for proper annotations are found at the end of this section.

**The bibliography form in your notebook will help stu-dents collect all of the necessary information.**

History Day Bibliographical Format

Please use the following MLA format when compiling

your annotated bibliography

BOOKS

Books with a Sin- gle Author

Cheplick, Ric. The Trials and Tribulations of Freshmen at Nimitz

High

School. Houston: Spring High School

Press, 1993.

Shelden, Connie. A Collection of Five Paragraph Essays by Freshmen at Nimitz High School.

Houston: Spring High School Press, 1993.

A book by Two or More Authors

Biggs, Jacquie and Mary Wolff. Teaching Shakespeare. Princeton:

University Press, 1987.

Breed, Sidney, John Smith, and Tad Jones. Jazz World: New

Orleans’ Finest. Athens: University and Georgia Press, 1986.

Authors Last Name, Comma

First Name

Period & 2 Spaces

Indent 2nd line Place of Publication, Colon, & 2 spaces

Comma, Year of Publication

& Period

Do NOT invert 2nd Author’s name

Publishing

Company

Complete title of the book should be written in Italics or Underlined

Period & 2 Spaces

** If there are more than 3 authors, you may name only the first author

and add et al. (“and others”), or you may give all of the names.

Two or More Books by the Same Author

Pryor, Ashley. The Awesome World of Sixth Graders. Houston:

Panther Press, 2000.

---. Taking a Tour of Parker Intermediate. Houston: Panther Press,

2001.

A Book by a Corporate Author

(May be an association, a committee, a commission, etc.). Cite the book by the

corporate author. This category also includes government-sponsored studies.

Committee on Excellent Education. Understanding the Wants and

Needs of Tenth Graders Who Love Social Studies. Dallas:

Ike Press, Inc., 1987.

A Book with No Author

Simply begin your bibliography entry with the title of the book and then

complete the book’s bibliographical information.

A Guide To Our Federal Lands. Washington, D.C.: National

Geographic Society, 1984.

Put three (3) hyphens in the place of the author’s name, then write the

complete bibliographical entry

A Multi-Volume Work

Churchill, Winston S. A History of the English-Speaking Peoples.

4 vols. New York: Dodd Company, 1956-58.

A Book with an Editor

An editor is a person who prepares someone else’s work for printing. Place the

editor’s names after the title.

Kay, Ira. Great Bedtime Stories. Ed. Kirk Moore and Josh Johns. Boston:

Houghton, 1993.

A Pamphlet or Bulletin

The bibliographical form is identical to the book format. If the pamphlet

does not have an author, simply begin with the title of the brochure.

Macklin, C. R. Career Opportunities in History Fair. Chicago: Institute of Research, 1994.

Government Documents

In general, the author(s) of most government documents is NOT known.

(a) Cite the agency as the author (this includes the name of the government, then

the name of the agency). (b) Cite the name of the document (italics or underlined).

(c) Most (not all) government documents are printed by the Government Printing

Office (GPO).

United States. Senate. Subcommittee on Gang Violence in

America. Hearings on the Effect of Gang Organizations in

Urban Schools, 1995. 91st Cong., 2nd sess. 23 vols. Washington: GPO, 1996.

United States. Department of State. Office of Public Affairs. Korea, 1945-1947:

A Report on Political Development and Economic Resources. 1948.

Westport: Greenwood Press, Inc., 1968.

Texas. Texas Education Agency. 100 Reasons Why Students Love To Take Tests.

Austin: Austin Printing Press, Inc., 1990.

A Book Without certain Information

Please use the following abbreviations to indicate missing information.

n.p. = no place of publication

Gossman, Dale. One Week in Washington with National History Fair Students. n.p.:

Oklahoma Printing Co., 1993.

n.p. = no publisher given

Petty, Barbara. Midnight in the L.M.C: History Fair at Nimitz.

Houston: n.p., 1986.

n.d. = no date given

Burse, Norris. History Fair is My Game. Houston: Aldine, n.d.

Name of Government Name of Agency

ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS

An Article from Newspaper

If the author is unsigned begin with the title.

Cook, Paula. “Senior Year is Very Serious Business.” Dallas

Times. 1 June 1996: 4D.

Dodd, Abby. “My Semester as a Student Aid.” Houston

Chronicle, 20 May 1995: 3B.

An Article from a Magazine

Marr, Scott. “I Love Current Events.” Newsweek. 16 Sept. 1996:

24-26.

An Article in a Scholarly Journal

Schattle, Gerald. “How I Spent My Summer.” Journal of Popular Culture. 41 (1996): 49-56.

Author’s Last Name Comma

Period & 2 Spaces

Title is always in quotation

marks and ends with a period

Newspaper Title in Italics

Period & 2

Spaces

Day, abbreviated month, & year of publication

Colon, 2 Spaces, Page #, & Period

Date, Period, 2 Spaces, Colon, Name of the Magazine

Volume, Year of Publication in paren-

thesis, Colon, Page #’s, & Period

Richardson, Jenny. “The Political Make-Up of the Aztec.”

Journal of Anthropological Research. 7 (1995): 323-328.

An Editorial

Charles, Tiffany. “Free Speech in High School.” Editorial. Time.

11 May 1995: 85.

LETTERS

A Letter that You Wrote

Jones, Michelle. Letter to Hakeem Olajuwan. 18 May 2001.

A letter from Archival Collections

Kennedy, John F. Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson. 22 Apr. 1961.

The Presidential Papers of Lyndon B. Johnson. The

University of Texas at Austin. Austin, Texas.

Letter to the Editor

Faucher, Staron. Letter. Harvard Review. 45 (1996): 24.

State that it is an editorial

Date the letter was written

Be specific about the source of your letter and where it is kept

Name of the maga-zine or newspaper

Volume & year of publi-

cation

Colon 2 Spaces Page

# Period

INTERVIEWS

Personal Interview

Ali, Muhammad. Personal Interview. Conducted by Wykesha

Harrison and Reginald Melvin. 21 Apr. 1996.

Telephone Interview

Lewis, John. Telephone Interview. Conducted by Rashod Austin.

Feb. 1996.

Taped Interview or Transcript of an Interview

Clark, Ramsey. Taped Interview. Conducted by John Doar.

Atlanta, Georgia. 9 Nov. 1964. University of Alabama. The Civil Rights Collection.

TELEVISIONS AND RADIO PROGRAMS

Televised Documentary

All of the information may vary. Collect as much information as possible.

The First Americans. Narr. Tom Brokaw. Writ and Prod. Dale

Jones. NBC News Special. KNBC, Los Angeles. 21 June

1994.

Last name comma first name of Person

interviewed

Name all group members present

during the interview

Date of interview Location of tape or tran-script and collection

Place of Interview

Music Recordings

Holiday, Billie. “God Bless the Child.” Rec. 9 May 1941. Billie

Holiday: The Golden Years. Columbia, C31 2, 1962.

Films, Filmstrips, Slide Programs, and Videotapes

FDR: The Depression Years. Videotape. Prod. The Nimitz High

School, Advanced Social Studies Class, 1994. 36 min.

An Anthology or Compilation

Valdez, Luis and Stan Steiner, eds. Artlan: An Anthology of

Mexican American Literature. New York: Vintage-Knopf, 1972.

A Multi-Volume Work

Blotner, Joseph. Faulkner: A Biography. 2 vols. New York:

Random, 1974.

An Edition other than the First

Chaucer, Geoffrey. The Riverside Chaucer. Ed. Larry D. Benson.

3rd ed. Boston: Houghton, 1987.

CD-ROM OR COMPUTER BASED INFORMATION

CD-ROM: Non-Periodical Publication

Cinemania. CD-ROM. Redmond: Microsoft, 1995.

CD-ROM: Work in More than One Medium

Mozart. CD-ROM. Laser optical disk. Union City, CA: Edbook,

1992.

Online Database: Printed Source on Printed Analogue

Garfield, Donald. “Warhol’s Starship Enterprise.” Museum

News. May/June 1994: 44-67. Art Index. Online. OCLC

First Search. 6 May 1995.

Online Database: No Printed Source and Printed Analogue

“Recycling Methods.” Academic American Encyclopedia. Online.

Compuserv. 7 May 1995.

Electronic Journals, Newsletters, Conferences

Shreibman, Vignor. “Closing the Values Gap.” FINS 1.5 (8

March 1993): n.pag. Online. Internet. 10 April 1995.

Electronic Text and Web Sites

Stratton-Porter, Gene. Freckles. New York: Grosset, 1904.

Online. Wiretap. Internet. 1 May 1993.

Rho Eta Web Page. Waco, Texas: Baylor University, 1998.

Online. Homepage. Internet. 5 June 1998.

E-Mails and Electronic Online Services

Penning, Sarah. “Mentor Advice.” Email to Rai Peterson. 6 May

1995.

Pierson, Michael. “Internet Freedom.” 30 Apr. 1995. Online

Posting: Alt. Culture. Internet. Usenet. 3 May 1995.

PERFORMANCES AND WORKS OF ART

Performances, Plays, and Monologues

A Walk in the Woods. By Lee Blessing. Dir. Des McAnuff. With

Sam Waterson and Robert Prosky. Booth Theatre, New

York. 17 May 1998.

Ozawa, Seiji, Cond. Boston Company Orch. Concert. Symphony

Hall, Boston. 30 Sept. 1998.

Works of Art

Botticelli, Sandro. Giuliano de’ Medici. Samuel H. Krauss Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington.

Rodin, Auguste. The Gate of Hell. Rodin Museum, Paris.

Maps and Charts

Sonoma and Napa Countries. Map. San Francisico: California

State Automobile Assn., 1984.

Cartoons and Advertisements

Adams, Charles. Cartoon. New Yorker. 22 Feb. 1998: 33.

Air France. “The Fine Art of Flying.” Advertisement. Travel and

Leisure. May 1998: 9.

DON’T FORGET: ALL OF THIS INFORMATION

MUST BE TYPED.

ANNOTATIONS

Suggestions &

Examples • Annotations should be no more that 4-5 sentences.

• All annotations should contain the following:

• The author’s name, if important to the topic

• The unique information that you obtained from the source

• What you or your group gained/learned from the source

• Annotations should NOT begin with:

• “This book…,” “This article…,” etc…

• Instead begin with the author’s name

• Ex. “Ms. Brown documents the actions of the Freedom Riders

• Ex. Ms. Brown provided me with several opinions regarding Muhammad

Ali’s stand against the draft.”

• Or begin the annotation with a small, but relevant quotes from the source

• Ex. “Kennedy felt the Freedom Riders were thorns in his side.”

• Or, simply begin your annotation with valuable unique information.

Ex. “We learned that mine operators preferred to hire immigrants to work in

the mines. Usually the immigrants were paid less, were charged more for

goods, and were law-abiding.”

• Do NOT restated the title of the book within the annotation.

• Remember, the annotations should always contain unique, relevant information regard-

ing your topic. Follow these tips and suggestions.

• Always state the name or the author of an interview

• Make sure to emphasize what you learned or the information you gained from

the use of this source

• Ex. I learned; I obtained; We discovered; We acquired several; We

gained invaluable

• It is always better to use ACTION words rather that passive

• Related the source to your topic by restating words from the theme.

Suggestions &

Examples

• Make the reader WANT to read your annotations. Do not write boring, repetitive anno-

tations.

• Awesome annotations take practice!! Write, read, proofread, and rewrite.

• Practice makes perfect!!

• Always read what you have written, NOT what you think you have written.

EXAMPLES

Byrd, Sigmund. “Inland from Constitutions Bend, Buffalo Bayou is Paradoxical Stream.”

Houston Post. 29 September 1946: 16A.

Sigmund Byrd gives vivid impression of the ship channel as he travels with a ship

captain down the channel. Many photographs are included in this article which allowed me

to see how the channel looked in its earlier days. These photographs not only showed the

change in the channel, but the growth of the city. Byrd’s story also revealed the increase in

trade to the Houston port.

Bonnell, George W. Buffalo Bayou. Austin: For Research, 1840.

George Bonnell gives a very detailed first-hand description of the Buffalo Bayou

and the land around it. This primary sources talks about the description of the land during

the mid-nineteenth century. Through Bonnell’s research, I was given a better understanding

of Houston's growth in the Bayou region.

A historical web site is a collection of web pages, interconnected with hyper-

links, that presents primary and secondary sources, interactive multimedia, and

historical analysis. Your web site should be an accumulation of research and

argument that incorporates textual and non-textual (photographs, maps, music,

etc.) description, interpretation, and multimedia sources to engage and inform

viewers about your chosen historical topic.

• Decide whether you want to create your web site as part of a group or on your

own.

• Research your topic first. Examine secondary and primary sources. From this

research, create your thesis. This will be the point that you want to make with

your historical web site.

• Narrow in on the content of your web site. Decide what information you want

to incorporate in your web pages, including any photos, primary documents, or

media clips you may have found. You should be sure to have plenty of supporting

information for your thesis.

• Create your website with the NHD Site Editor. Go to http://nhd.weebly.com/

to begin your website

• Organize and Design -Keep It Simple: don't waste too much time on bells and

whistles. Tell your story and tell it straight. -Borrow Ideas from Other Web Sites:

find design elements that work and imitate them on your web site. Just remember

to give credit where credit is due. -Make sure every element of your design points

back to your topic, thesis, and/or time period. There should be a conscious reason

for every choice you make about color, typeface, or graphics.

• Students may compete as individuals or within a group (2-5 members)

• -This project requires that students create a tri-panel display of their project (try to

avoid foam boards, if possible)

• -The backboard is to be no larger than 40 inches wide, 30 inches deep, and 6 feet high

when displayed.

• -The final project must include 3 copies of the two-page paper and annotated bibliog-

raphy with and appropriate title page

• -Make sure that your project addresses the theme

• -The project title should be clear and visible on your board

• -Labels, captions, and titles should be brief (make sure that they do not total more than

500 words)

• -Be sure that your project is visually appealing and shows a good interpretation of the

information

• -Project should make a good visual impact, include images that illustrate your topic

and are not easily forgotten

• -Visuals on the backboard should be neat and eye-catching (consider adding, block

letters, a title board, baseboard, type and laminate all written information, matt and frame

captions and pictures, lights etc)

• -Be creative

• -Include a timeline

• --Backboard Outline

• Left Panel – should present information prior to the historical

• Event; introduce the relationship to the theme

• Center Panel – should detail the actual event, may include timeline, etc...

• Right Panel –should display the political, economic, and social

impacts of your topic

Please be prepared to answer any questions by

reviewing all of your research.

• Historical Papers may only be completed by individuals

• They must be between 1,500 and 2,500 words, excluding citations, the

annotated bibliography, and title page

• A two page paper is NOT required for this project

• The annotated bibliography must be organized and categorize just as

with the other projects

• Make sure that the project addresses the theme

• Include citations using MLA format

• Turn in FOUR copies of your Final Project

• Remember that this is a formal paper and should not include any in-formal or first person language. Ex. Do NOT use words such as I, you, we,

us, I am going to explain, My project is about, I hope you understand




• Performances are not to exceed 10 minutes (minimum 8 to 9 minutes).

• Students are allowed a maximum of 5 minutes to set up and take down

any props (no parental assistance allowed)

• The final project must include 3 copies of the two-page paper and an-

notated bibliography with an appropriate title page

• Make sure that your project addresses the theme

• The project title should be clear and visible on your board

• Only student entrants are allowed to operate and set up any equipment

required for their performance

• Be sure that your project is interesting and shows a good interpretation

of the information

• Project should make a good visual impact. Performances should illus-

trate the idea or event in a manner that you and your topic are not easily

forgotten

• Be creative

• Make sure to have extra supplies (an emergency kit) in case of any un-

foreseen accidents (torn costumes, broken props, torn process paper,

etc…)

• When selecting costumes and props, be sure to consider the time pe-

riod in which the event took place (Christopher Columbus did not wear

blue jeans and tennis shoes).




• Documentaries are not to exceed 10 minutes (minimum 8 to 9 minutes).

• Students are allowed a maximum of 5 minutes to set up and take down any equipment

(no parental assistance allowed)

• The final project must include 3 copies of the two-page paper and annotated bibliogra-

phy with an appropriate title page

• Make sure that your project addresses the theme

• The project title should be clear and visible on your board

• Only student entrants are allowed to operate and set up any equipment required for

their documentary

• Be sure that your project is interesting and shows a good interpretation of the informa-

tion

• Project should make a good visual impact. Documentary should illustrate the idea or

event in a manner that you and your topic are not easily forgotten

• Be creative

• Documentaries may be created at home or after school on campus computer equip-

ment; however, all research, picture collection, video, and in-person interviews must be

done outside of school

• Make sure to have extra supplies (an emergency kit) in case of any unforeseen acci-

dents (damaged video tape, torn process paper, etc…)

• When writing a script make sure that the pictures and video are complimentary



Complete the last few steps...

1. Type the final draft of your two page process paper and the annotated bibliogra-

phy (make sure that you have AT LEAST 15 resources — at least 4 of those

should be PRIMARY).

2. Type an appropriate title page. It should include

Project Title

Project Type/Category

(Historical Paper, Individual or Group Exhibit, Individual or Group Performance.,

Individual or Group Documentary)

Junior Division

Project #

(to be assigned by your teacher prior to the fair)

3. Staple the title page, the process paper, and the annotated bibliography together.

Make sure that you have at least 3 copes of this paperwork

4. Make sure that your project is neat and addresses the theme.

5. Study the sample judge’s questions and review all of your notes and research.

6. Grade your own project using the Evaluation Checklist in your notebook. Also,

complete the Hints for Checking Final Project Worksheet in your Notebook

7. If you’ve done your best, BE PROUD OF YOURSELF!

Race for the Finish...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please

contact your Social Studies Teacher or History Fair Coordinator.

Best wishes on a wonderful project!

~Ms. Pryor

ryor

ublishing

& Design