National History Day Gets Kids Excited About History

June 10th, 2021 by dayat Leave a reply »

National History Day is a drive to get students involved in real history study disguised as a contest. The tagline at the National History Day website reads It’s Not just a Day, It’s an Experience! In this event, the contest is downplayed in favor of the process and the learning. Students are encouraged to delve into primary history sources, seek out the facts for themselves and analyze complex human situations.

I agree with the aims of the National History Day as expressed at their website:

History education is the cornerstone of a quality education. National History Day, Inc. is an education organization that is transforming the way history is taught and learned. National History Day, Inc. helps teachers meet educational standards; disseminates high quality curriculum materials; and sponsors challenging contests that teach students the critical skills they need to be effective
citizens in the 21st century. National History Day, Inc. improves education EVERY day.
The initial information came through a local homeschool list and I immediately got excited about it. I bribed my history loving son into doing a project by promising it would also count for part of his english credit this year since there is a 500 word process paper involved. Advanced homeschool mom tactics in action. My son’s project will naturally include some aspect of military history which won’t be difficult to fit into this year’s theme of Conflict and Compromise in History. He is already scheming to use this as an excuse to build a diorama of trench warfare in WWI.

You can get involved as a student, a parent or a teacher! It is open to all students, public, private or homeschooled, in grades 6-12. You can get more information from your state coordinator who can be located at the website. Projects can be started by teams or individuals and the final presentation can be in a variety of forms as shown in the introductory video.

Students can give their creativity free reign in drama, displays, websites and other media forms. This is ideal for students who are visual spatial or right brained learners and who enjoy presenting their learning in unique ways.

Learning history is an essential part of a excellent education. If we provide settings that create the spark of interest and then give students the tools to fan that spark, more students will develop the life long love of history that will serve them well. National History Day is an excellent way to do just that.

Karen Davis is a homeschooling mother of four,

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