Welcome to History Fair 2013

What is History Fair?

YOU ask a historical question that you want to answer

YOU do research using authentic sources & join the conversations of other historians

YOU analyze and come to your own conclusions, make your own argument supported by evidence

YOU produce a project to present to the public

History Fair is an annual competition in which local students present their own historical research projects on topics related to Chicago.

How Do I Do History Fair?

History Fair Topic &

Question

It’s History – happened in the past, and shows change over time. It’s

connected to Chicago.

It can be argued -- interpreted.

It’s got sources.

It’s historically significant.

It uses the NHD theme for analysis.

It’s Got Soul! YOU CARE ABOUT IT!

Do you have a strong History Fair Topic? Check it out!

Ask Questions and Find A Topic1.

What issues interest me? What do I care about?

What’s going on in my community? In the world? In the U.S.?

What areas of history are most intriguing to me?

Talk to your family members, teachers, or other adults in your life. What important events have happened since they’ve been alive?

Take a look at the timeline on the Encyclopedia of Chicago website (encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org). Which topics match your interests?

Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, EventsThe 2013 NHD Theme

Is it a turning point? Consider the following:

• What action, idea, or event caused a major shift in how people thought or lived?

• How did your turning point change points of

history including ideas, laws, technologies, or cultural standards?

• For example, how did the Great Migration of

African Americans from the South to the North represent a turning point in labor relations, or music, or race relations in Chicago?

The theme provides a central idea around which you can explore your topics and figure out your thesis.

What is a Turning Point? Major shift, a watershed event Something new happens after the turning

point

Pictured Above: Southerners arrive to Chicago.

Hundreds of thousands of southern African

Americans came to northern cities during the

Great Migration.

So is your topic a turning point: let’s review

• Did your topic cause a major shift in historical direction?

• What was happening before the

turning point that may have had an impact on the turning point?

• Does your topic show history turning a corner?

Special thanks to the Minnesota Historical Society and the University of Minnesota, Department of History, sponsors of National History Day in Minnesota

• use a wide variety of sources• deeply explore available sources• understand and use appropriately primary

(original, first-hand) sources to develop own ideas

• use secondary sources to find the context and to understand the ways that historians and others have interpreted the subject

• reflect a balance of various viewpoints and perspectives

2. The Research Journey

3. Analyzing SourcesAfter researching, it might help to organize what you are finding into six main areas:• Description: who, what, when, where• Historical context• What happened: how and why• Causes or contributing factors• What changed and why: effects and impact • Significance

Consider using a “double column” format for taking notes in each category: on one side, record the information you find, on the other, ask questions, analyze, make connections.

Analyze your sources: They hold the keys to the past.

Document Analysis: What do you see? What does it tell you? What other questions do you have? What other sources could you find to help you understand this source?

A TitleAn introduction and a conclusion

Labels: The Students’

InterpretationPrimary

Sources as

Evidence

Subtitle/Subhead

Secondary Sources as Evidence

PARTS OF AN EXHIBIT:

The introduction is the road map to the exhibit.

The introduction establishes:

• context• change • significance or impact

and contains your thesis statement.

Most segments contain:

Subtitle/Subhead

Label(s)

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

Segments are like sections in a museum or paragraphs of a paper

The subtitle, interpretive label(s) and a variety of sources all connect to tell the story.

Subtitles are Guideposts

Subtitles guide the viewer through the exhibit and establish the main points of the argument.

Labels tell the story

• Labels consist of 50-75 words that develop the interpretation in organized clusters of claims and evidence.

• Each label communicates one main idea.

Revolutionary thinkers, affirming the right to childhood, denounced child labor as exploitation. Settlement workers promoted childhood as a unique stage in life in which an individual’s personality could be developed through creative play, introduction to the arts, and a proper education. Muckrakers, pioneering doctors, and labor union organizers publicized the evils of child labor.

Strong labels:• Focus on one idea• Use active verbs• Provide explanation and analysis of the primary sources

• Move the story forward

In each segment of the exhibit, the sources directly relate to the label text.

A successful exhibit is the product of:

• in-depth research, • a clear interpretation, • interesting and relevant sources, • a compelling story,• and a visual design and layout

that reinforces the message.

Take A Look!

• Come Look at the Exhibits I’ve brought with me. How does the students develop his/her thesis in each segment?

• What different type of evidence does the student use to support her/his thesis?

• What type of evidence will you use to support your thesis?