Connections to Curriculum
Wisconsin
State Standards
The National History
Day program has been designed to assist teachers and schools
in meeting several educational standards. In Wisconsin, National
History Day supports the state Model Academic Standards for
Social Studies. Students completing History Day projects will
likely address one or more of the following standards:
History
- B.8.1 Interpret the past using a variety
of sources, such as biographies, diaries, journals, artifacts,
eyewitness interviews, and other primary source materials,
evaluate the credibility of sources used
- B.8.2 Employ cause-and-effect arguments
to demonstrate how significant events have influenced the
past and the present in the United States and world history.
- B.8.3 Describe the relationships between
and among significant events, such as the causes and consequences
of wars in the United States and world history
- B.8.4 Explain how and why events may be
interpreted differently depending upon the perspectives of
participants, witnesses, reporters, and historians
- B.8.7 Identify significant events and people
in the major eras of United States and world history
- B.8.10 Analyze examples of conflict, cooperation,
and interdependence among groups, societies, or nations
- B.12.1 Explain different points of view
on the same historical event, using data gathered from various
sources, such as letters, journals, diaries, newspapers, government
documents, and speeches
- B.12.2 Analyze primary and secondary sources
related to a historical question to evaluate their relevance,
make comparisons, integrate new information with prior knowledge,
and come to a reasoned conclusion
- B.12.4 Assess the validity of different
interpretations of significant historical events
- B.12.5 Gather various types of historical
evidence, including visual and quantitative data, to analyze
issues of freedom and equality, liberty and order, region
and nation, individual and community, law and conscience,
diversity and civic duty; form a reasoned conclusion in the
light of other possible conclusions; and develop a coherent
argument in the light of other possible arguments
- B.12.8 Recall, select, and explain the
significance of important people, their work, and their ideas
in the areas of political and intellectual leadership, inventions,
discoveries, and the arts, within each major era of Wisconsin,
United States, and world history
- B.12.11 Compare examples and analyze why
governments of various countries have sometimes sought peaceful
resolution to conflicts and sometimes gone to war
Reading &
Literature
- A.8.1 Use effective reading strategies
to achieve their purposes in reading
- Use knowledge of sentence and word structure, word
origins, visual images, and context clues to understand
unfamiliar words and clarify passages of text
- Establish purposeful reading and writing habits by
using texts to find information, gain understanding of
diverse viewpoints, make decisions, and enjoy the experience
of reading
- Select, summarize, paraphrase, analyze, and evaluate,
orally and in writing, passage of text chosen for specific
purposes
- A.8.3 Read and discuss literary and nonliterary
texts in order to understand human experience
- Provide interpretive responses, orally and in writing,
to literary and nonliterary texts representing the diversity
of American cultural heritage and cultures of the world
- Evaluate the themes and main ideas of a work considering
its audience and purpose
- A.8.4 Read to acquire information
- Interpret and use technical resources such as charts,
tables, travel schedules, timelines, and manuals
- Compare, contrast, and evaluate the relative accuracy
and usefullness of information from different sources
- Identify and explain information, main ideas, and organization
found in a variety of informational passages
- Distinguish between facts found in documents, narratives,
charts, maps, tables, and other sources and the generalizations
and interpretations that are drawn from them
- A.12.1 Use effective reading strategies
to achieve their purposes in reading
- Gather information to help achieve understanding when
the meaning of a text is unclear
- Apply knowledge of expository structures, such as the
deductive or inductive development of an argument, to
the comprehension and evaluation of texts
- Identify propaganda techniques and faulty reasoning
in texts
- Distinguish between fact and opinion in nonfiction
texts
- A.12.3 Read and discuss literary and nonliterary
text in order to understand human experience.
- Examine, explain, and evaluate, orally and in writing,
various perspectives concerning individual, community,
national, and world issues reflected in literary and nonliterary
texts
- Develop and articulate, orally and in writing, defensible
points of view on individual, community, national, and
world issues reflected in literary and nonliterary texts
- Identify the devices an author uses to influence their
readers and critique the effectiveness of their use
- A.12.4 Students will read to acquire information
- Apply tests of logic and reasoning to informational
and persuasive texts
- Analyze and synthesize concepts and details encountered
in informational texts such as reports, technical manuals,
historical papers, and government documents
- Draw on and integrate information from multiple sources
when acquiring knowledge and developing a position on
a topic of interest
- Evaluate reliability and authenticity of information
conveyed in a text, using criteria based on knowledge
of the author, topic, and context and analysis of logic,
evidence, propaganda, and language
Research &
Inquiry
- F.8.1 Conduct research and inquiry on self-selected
or assigned topics, issues, or problems and use an appropriate
form to communicate their findings.
- Formulate research questions and focus investigation
on relevant and accessible sources of information
- Use multiple sources to identify and locate information
pertinent to research including encyclopedias, almanacs,
dictionaries, library catalogs, indexes to periodicals,
and various electronic search engines
- Conduct interviews, field studies, and experiments
and use specialized resources (such as almanacs, fact
books, pamphlets, and technical manuals) when appropriate
to an investigation
- Compile, organize, and evaluate information, taking
notes that record and summarize what has been learned
and extending the investigation to other sources
- Review and evaluate the usefulness of information gathered
in an investigation
- Produce an organized written and oral report that presents
and reflects on findings, draws sound conclusions, adheres
to the conventions for preparing a manuscript, and gives
proper credit to sources
- F.12.1 Conduct research and inquiry on
self-selected or assigned topics, issues, or problems and
use an appropriate form to communicate their findings.
- Formulate questions addressing issues or problems that
can be answered through a well defined and focused investigation
- Use research tools found in school and college libraries,
take notes, collect and classify sources, and develop
strategies for finding and recording information
- Conduct interviews, taking notes or recording and transcribing
oral information, then summarizing the results
- Develop research strategies appropriate to the investigation,
considering methods such as questionnaires, experiments,
and field studies
- Organize research materials and data, maintaining a
note-taking system that includes summary, paraphrase,
and quoted material
- Evaluate the usefulness and credibility of data and
sources by applying tests of evidence, including bias,
position, expertise, adequacy, validity, reliability,
and date
- Analyze, synthesize, and integrate data, drafting a
reasoned report that supports and appropriately illustrates
inferences and conclusions drawn from research
- Present findings in oral and written reports, correctly
citing sources
Writing
Oral Language
- C.8.1 Orally communicate information, opinions,
and ideas effectively to different audiences for a variety
of purposes.
- Share brief impromptu remarks about topics of interest
to oneself and others
- Speaking from notes or an outline, relate an experience
in descriptive detail, with a sense of timing and decorum
appropriate to the occasion
- Perform expressive oral readings of prose, poetry,
and drama
- Prepare and conduct interviews
- Present a coherent, comprehensive report on differing
viewpoints on an issue, evaluating the content of the
material presented, and organizing the presentation in
a manner appropriate to the audience
- Differentiate between formal and informal contexts
and employ an appropriate style of speaking, adjusting
language, gestures, rate, and volume according to audience
and purpose
- Observe the appropriate etiquette when expressing thanks
and receiving praise
- C.8.2 Listen to and comprehend oral communications.
- Summarize and explain the information conveyed in an
oral communication, accounting for the key ideas, structure,
and relationship of parts to the whole
- Distinguish among purposes for listening, such as gaining
information or being entertained, and take notes as appropriate
- Recall significant details and sequence accurately
- Follow a speaker's argument and represent it in notes
- Evaluate the reliability of information in a communication,
using criteria based on prior knowledge of the speaker,
the topic, and the context and on analysis of logic, evidence,
propaganda devices, and language
- C.8.3 Participate effectively in discussion.
- Participate in discussion by listening attentively,
demonstrating respect for the opinions of others, and
responding responsibly and courteously to the remarks
of others
- Explain and advance opinions by citing evidence and
referring to sources
- Evaluate the stated ideas and opinions of others, seeking
clarification through questions
- Invite ideas and opinions of others into the discussion,
responding clearly and tactfully to questions and comments
- Accept and use helpful criticism
- Establish and maintain an open mind when listening
to others' ideas and opinions
- Summarize the main points of a discussion, orally and
in writing, specifying areas of agreement and disagreement
and paraphrasing contributions
- Display and maintain facial expressions, body language,
and other response cues that indicate respect for the
speaker and attention to the discussion
- Attend to the content of discussion rather than the
speaker
- Participate in discussion without dominating
- Distinguish between supported and unsupported statements
- C.12.1 Prepare and deliver formal oral
presentations appropriate to specific purposes and audiences.
- Develop and deliver a speech that conveys information
and ideas in logical fashion for a selected audience,
using language that clarifies and reinforces meaning
- Construct and present a coherent argument, summarizing
then refuting opposing positions, and citing persuasive
evidence
- Participate effectively in question-and-answer sessions
following presentations
- Summarize narrative and numerical information accurately
and logically in presentations
- Demonstrate confidence and poise during presentations,
interacting effectively with the audience, and selecting
language and gestures mindful of their effect
- Demonstrate the ability to debate an issue from either
side
- Interpret literary works orally, citing textual data
in support of assertions
- Synthesize and present results of research projects,
accurately summarizing and illustrating the main ideas,
using appropriate technological aids, and offering support
for the conclusions
- Speak fluently with varied inflection and effective
eye contact, enunciating clearly at an appropriate rate
and volume
- Observe the appropriate etiquette when expressing thanks
and receiving praise
- C.12.2 Listen to, discuss, and comprehend
oral communications.
- Attend to both literal and connotative meanings
- Distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information
- Distinguish fact from opinion, evaluate logic, and
identify manipulative techniques
- Analyze messages for their accuracy and usefulness
- Evaluate a speaker's use of diction, tone, syntax,
rhetorical structure, and conventions of language considering
the purpose and context of the communication
- Relate a speaker's ideas and information to prior knowledge
and experience
- Consider the specific situation and current conditions
when responding to instructions
- C.12.3 Participate effectively in discussion.
- Detect and evaluate a speaker's bias
- Consider the ideas and opinions of other speakers thoughtfully
before responding
- Evaluate the validity and adequacy of ideas, arguments,
hypotheses, and evidence
- Be aware of and try to control counterproductive emotional
responses to a speaker or ideas conveyed in a discussion
- Appraise the purpose of discussions by examining their
context and the motivation of participants
- Perform various roles in a discussion, including leader,
participant, and moderator
- Demonstrate the ability to extend a discussion by adding
relevant information or asking pertinent questions
- Explain and advance opinions by citing evidence and
referring to authoritative sources
- Employ strategies such as summarizing main ideas or
identifying areas of agreement to solve problems, resolve
conflicts, and conclude discussions
- Convey criticism in a respectful and supportive way
National
Standards
National
History Day and National Educational Standards (PDF
55KB). This four-page document found on the NHD website illustrates
how participation in the National History Day program supports
teachers and students in meeting local, state and particularly
national education standards. National History Day can also
help educators to meet many of the Common
Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy in
History/Social Studies (PDF
57KB)
National
NHD Program Evaluation
A recent national
evaluation has confirmed the benefits of National History Day,
a program in which many teachers already believe. Researchers
examined students’ success across a range of measures:
performance assessments, surveys, standardized scores, academic
performance, and interest in past and current events. Researchers
then compared their evaluations of students who participated
in National History Day to their peers who did not participate
in the program. The study, conducted at four sites around the
country, found that on nearly every measure, NHD students’
scores or ratings were higher than their peers who did not participate
in the program. Read more on the national
NHD website.
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