One of the most important elements of a history day project is that students need to show how their topic fits within the historical context around it. History doesn’t just happen. It is influenced by people, events, politics, society, innovations, and more. As students move from researching their topic to shaping their project, here are some ways for them to think about historical context.
Background Events- No event happens without something leading to it. Students should look at what events, societal changes, or innovations happened in the years before their topic. Think about how the Treaty of Versailles led to the start of World War II. Or how the enacting of new acts and taxes on the colonies led to the American Revolution.
Social Context- What was the social environment like at the time? Students should consider what the social norms were at the time. For example, how did racism, segregation, and Jim Crow laws set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement?
Intellectual or Scientific Context- How do or did experts understand your topic? Students should think about how people thought at the time and what technologies were available. What did scientists believe about the transmission of diseases? What did people think of the world around them?
Cultural Context- What were the cultural norms at the time? Students should examine how society viewed and expected people to behave. What were the prevailing views on women’s place? What behaviors were considered appropriate or inappropriate? Who was allowed to have certain jobs or be in certain places?
Economic Context- How did the economy shape people’s lives and choices? Think about how people had to live during the Great Depression or Germany before World War II.
Other Contexts- Students should try to identify other contexts that are relevant to their topics. These may not be the same for every student.
For most students, they will find that their topic will be the result of a response or reaction, or attempt to change the circumstances of the time. Understanding historical context will help your students best describe changes over time and identify the long and short term consequences and outcomes of their topic.
Modified with permission from Utah History Day’s Historical Context: Sets the Stage.
"I keep six honest serving men. (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who." - Rudyard Kipling
For most students participating in the Connecticut History Day program, this is their first experience in conducting in-depth research. Our students become young detectives of history, who are on a mission to solve a historical puzzle of their own choice. They are challenged to go beyond the internet and their comfort zone, to find primary and secondary materials that will support and defend their thesis statement. As teachers, we challenge them to explore each perspective of an issue and gain historical background of the time period they chose to learn about. It is extremely important for the students to understand and present the information in historical context. For most students, this is a daunting task and requires them to take baby steps to reach their goal to be successful. At the conclusion of their research, they must be able to analyze and synthesize materials to form a strong thesis statement and defend it.
One of the first steps students should take at the beginning of the research process is to write strong research questions that help direct their research. Experienced researchers know that the answer to one question generally leads to more questions. History is a puzzle with many answers and solutions. Two students can be researching the same topic and will discover completely different information and perspectives as they proceed. Researching becomes a historic treasure hunt to try to find answers and solutions to what happened in the past. The hunt is what generates excitement for students and keeps their interest throughout this long process. They may uncover materials and information that surprise them, and in some cases may reveal shocking realities of the past. Almost always, new materials generate new questions, and so the process continues.
Recently I attended a workshop presented by National Geographic, at the Connecticut Council for the Social Studies conference. The speaker was explaining their Geo-Inquiry Process, which has a scientific connection. As I sat there and listened and viewed the materials distributed, I immediately thought of the connection to History Day! This questioning model is transferable to the NHD research process as well. The National Geographic program asks students to follow a five-step process which includes:
Our students are basically following the same steps, only using a historical lens to conduct their research. The NHD model looks like this:
In each program, the first step requires students to write a strong research question. A strong research question asks students to think about their topic in a historical context.
For example, a student who may be researching the D-Day invasion of Normandy will discover that the date, time, and location for the surprise attack were all very well planned, with a definite purpose to each mission. There was not one plan, but several, with multiple backup plans that considered all problems that could arise during the collective missions. Each country and participant had a specific role in the main mission. What was the role of each? How was it decided who would carry out a specific mission? Most likely, students will discover multiple answers to the same question, before moving onto the next step of their research process, which is; analyze the materials they found and draw conclusions.
To assist my students with writing research questions, I created a worksheet based on the Geo-Inquiry Process, developed by National Geographic. The worksheet is set up to test the student’s initial research question. If they can successfully answer the question in the box correctly, then they move on to the next box. If they do not have a correct answer, they are directed to return to their original question and rewrite it to make it stronger. Students continue to proceed down the list of eight questions until they reach the last box, which will direct the student to begin their research. I am attaching the worksheet I created to this blog for teachers and students to use when writing their own research questions.
Please remind students that the research process is constantly demanding historians to ask more questions. Most of the time, one question will lead to others. That is what makes researching a puzzle. Students are young detectives of history, who uncover multiple answers, and very often they will find, answers only lead to more questions!
Sharon Wlodarczyk is a longtime Connecticut History Day teacher and has had several national winners over the years. She is a teacher in Region 15. Sharon has participated in the NHD Normandy Institute and served as a NHD Teacher Ambassador.
By now, most Connecticut History Day students have chosen a topic and are in the throes of research. It's important to make sure your students stay focused and ensure their project relates to the 2019 National History Day (NHD) theme of Triumph & Tragedy in History.
One way to help students make the connection between their research and the NHD Theme is to remind students' of the definitions of each word.
Triumph: A victory or conquest by or as if by military force of notable success.
A triumph is an achievement and has impact, but encourage students to think beyond military history. There are many examples of triumphs in environmental, scientific, legal, cultural, political and artistic history. It is important to remember is that a triumph is not always a positive event.
Tragedy: A disastrous event.
Tragedies can be man-made or natural disasters. But more than likely, a tragedy is the result of the actions of people. Students should ask themselves: Who was impacted by the tragedy? Why was it a tragedy? What caused the tragedy?
The two most frequent questions we hear about this year's theme of Triumph & Tragedy in History are:
The majority of topics will have elements of triumph and tragedy in them, but those elements are often not 50/50. The theme words do not have to be treated equally in a project. Additionally, students should follow the history with the 2019 NHD theme. In other words, it does not matter the order in which they address triumph and/ or tragedy.
Students might not yet know how their topic connects to the theme but those connections will become clearer as students keep researching. It is important that students look at one event from multiple points of view. A triumph for one person or group can often be a tragedy for another.
Have them consider how triumph leads to tragedy or how tragedy leads to triumph. For many topics, the triumph and tragedy was most likely caused by the actions of people. Students need to ask questions about who and why. As students make the connections between their topic and the theme of Triumph & Tragedy in History make sure that they avoid “what-if” history and instead show their topic’s impact.
In a decade of working with NHD, one of the things I notice most frequently is that students fail to make a clear connection between their projects and the NHD annual theme. Sometimes theme words are used in a cursory fashion, but it’s important that students clearly show the connection and make that argument easy for a viewer to understand.
Information courtesy of NHD in Minnesota, written for Connecticut History Day by Rebecca Taber-Conover, State Coordinator.