National History Day in Nevada

1. National History Day in Nevada Rights and Responsibilities 2014

2. Unpacking the Theme • This year’s theme, Rights and Responsibilities in History, is broad. This means you can choose a topic that allows you to explore your own interests, whether it’s science, politics, the arts, education—you name it. Inspiration can come from most any place: local history, your textbooks, or perhaps recent headlines, TV shows or even the latest Twitter feed. • With rights come responsibilities, whether they involve exercising rights within specified limits or ensuring the rights of others. You might find it tempting to focus mostly on rights in your project, but remember that this year’s theme also encompasses responsibilities.

3. Let’s think about this year’s theme. What are rights? Are responsibilities always attached to rights? Are there times when rights protect some while disenfranchising others—and is that fair? Do we have economic rights? Are civil rights upheld at the same level for everyone in the United States? What are our rights as global citizens? And what about animal rights—do humans bear responsibility for non-humans? These are just a few questions you might ask as you begin your research. To explore a topic’s historical importance, you have to answer the question, “So what?” You must address questions about time and place, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance. Always try to do more than just describe what happened. Draw conclusions about how the topic affected individuals, communities, other nations and the world as a whole. This helps give your research historical context.

4. Project Options • Group or individual options: • Exhibit • Documentary) • Website • Performance (must get it approved by teachers) • Paper (must be alone)

5. E X H I B I T S

7. WEBSITES

8. D O C U M E N T A R I E S

9. Steps to Success Brainstorm events, ideas, or people that spark your interest. Narrow down your list to one or two topics relating to the theme. Research your topics using the web and books. Choose your final topic. Research your final topic. Make sure to analyze the sources you are using. Choose how you will present your topic.

10. Brainstorm events, ideas, or people that spark your interest Think, think, and think! Choose a time period, person, or event that you are most interested in. Maybe it is something that you didn’t get to learn about in class?

11. NARROW DOWN YOUR TOPICS TO ONE OR TWO TOPICS RELATING TO THE THEME • After you have a few ideas that interest you.... • think about if/how this topic relates to the theme.

12. Research Your Topics • The first task of a historian is to find a great deal of information about the topic. • Do not do all of your research on the web! Think outside the box: • Museums • State Records/ Archives • Photos • Libraries • Books

13. Choose Your Final Topic When choosing your topic, choose the topic that interests you but also has substantial amounts of resources to help you with your research. Try to narrow down your topic but do not narrow it too far where it is difficult to find information on it.

14. What topics interest you? Immigration, Ethnicity Politics, Law Labor, business Technology, medicine Arts, literature Sports, Media Civil and human rights Women’s issues Environment — everything has a history! What current events or issues concern you? What career do you want to have as an adult? What period of history is most intriguing for you? There are many ways to find topics…

15. To explore a topic’s historical importance, you have to answer the following… • “So what?” • Time and place • Cause and effect, • Change over time, and • Impact • Significance. Always try to do more than just describe what happened. Draw conclusions about how the topic affected individuals, communities, other nations and the world as a whole. This helps give your research historical context.

16. It’s historically significant. It can be argued -- interpreted. It’s history – happened in the past, and shows change over time. It’s connected to Nevada. Your History Fair Topic Question It’s got soul! YOU CARE ABOUT IT! It’s got sources. It uses the NHD theme for analysis.

17. What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. NHD THEME Research!! INVEST TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC

18. What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. I love TV! NHD THEME BROAD TOPIC Research!! INVEST TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC

19. What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. I love TV. Hey, I didn’t know that Chicago was once famous for its television programs. Wow! 2013 Theme is “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events” BROAD TOPIC Research!! Narrowed Topic INVEST TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC

20. What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. I love TV. Hey, I didn’t know that Chicago was once famous for its television programs. Wow! Did Chicago TV produce any turning points in history? NHD THEME BROAD TOPIC Research!! Narrowed Topic Historical Question INVEST TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC

21. INVEST RESEARCH TIME IN FINDING THE TOPIC What changed? How and why? What was the impact? What was its significance? Always the “big questions” of history. A specific aspect of history to analyze. I love TV! I didn’t know that Chicago was once famous for its television programs. Wow! Did Chicago TV produce any turning points in history? Chicago School of Television’s pioneering informal style broke down barriers between the audience and performers which represented a turning point that changed Americans’ relationship to television. NHD THEME BROAD TOPIC Research!! Narrowed Topic Historical Question Historical Question Working Thesis MAIN RESEARCH!

22. Once you’ve narrowed your topic, asked a historical question and done more research, you will be able to write a “working” thesis. • A thesis statement tells us in one or two sentences what you are going to argue for in your project. It is your answer to your historical question.

23. A strong thesis: • Takes a stand -- makes a specific argument or interpretation • Has a narrow and specific focus • Based on & can be supported with evidence • Explains historical impact, significance, or change over time, and • Can be communicated in one or two sentences.

24. What are secondary sources?Materials that give information, make an argument or offer interpretation based on primary sources.Use secondary sources first to gather basic information on your topic - including the background and context.

25. ALWAYS START • BOOKS or ARTICLES • by historians on a narrow subject • by historians that summarize or synthesize others’ works • by writers summarizing historians • Encyclopedia & general reference books • Interviews with scholars, experts, museum docents, or others with second-hand knowledge

26. What are Primary Sources? Material made at the time - for the time, or persons who were witnesses or participants. Primary sources are the “voices into the past” that make history come alive. They are also the historian’s EVIDENCE.

27. Speeches • Letters • Photographs • Interviews • Diaries • Posters, flyers • Newspapers, serials • Minutes or reports, government documents

28. Photographs

29. Newspapers, periodicals and serials (magazines)

30. Flyers, posters, cartoons

31. Reports, government documents, laws, trials, meeting minutes

32. Also look for… • Speeches • Interviews • Oral Histories • Letters • Diaries

33. Where can you find them? • libraries • archives • interviews • neighborhoods • organizations • historic sites • museums • Internet-online databases and digital collections

34. When you’re researching, 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 Your notes=the information you are finding but ALSO your analysis of that information

35. Just like historians, you will need to submit an Annotated Bibliography with your project: • A bibliography contains citations--the detailed publication information--about every source you used. • An annotation is your summary of the source and explanation of how it was used in your project. (You will attach your Annotated Bibliography to the Summary Statement Form to give to your judges.)

36. Annotated Bibliography The annotation summarizes the source and explains how it was used in project. Bibliographic Information may be either MLA or Turabian style. Be consistent. Primary and Secondary Sources should be separated.