Cyber Club

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

WELCOME!

I am so glad you are here with us. This first month we are going to focus on the National DAY History project. Through this project, we will be creating a digital story, movie, blog, wiki, and website. Our goal is that you enter as many competitions possible and use technology to channel your discoveries.

We are so exicited to have you here and can not wait to get things started.

This blog will be our virtual spot on the web. You all my contact each other here or place your thoughts about projects we are working on now....or ones you want to work on in the future.

Thanks for attending,

Tina, Pam, and Carol

There are five contest categories:

Documentary

Exhibit

Paper ( The paper category is for individual students only.)

Performance

Web Site

Documentary:

Students may create documentaries using slides, film, videos and computers. Whatever presentation format is chosen, students must be able to operate all equipment, both during production and at each level of competition.

The most important aspect of any entry is its historical quality. Students should not get so caught up in the production of a documentary that they lose sight of the importance of the historical quality. Judges are not looking for glitzy productions; rather, they are looking for solid research and a thorough analysis of the chosen topic.

Slide Presentations

Film and Video Presentations

Computer-Based Presentations

Creating Exhibit Entries

Exhibits are designed to display visual and written information on topics in an attractive and easily understood manner. They are similar to exhibits found in a museum. People walking by should be attracted to an exhibit's main idea and, therefore, stop to learn more about the topic. To be successful, an exhibit must create an effective balance between visual interest and historical explanation.

Labeling

Writing Effective Labels

Three-Dimensional Exhibits

Exhibit Design Guidelines
Two hand-outs illustrate the importance of design in the creation of a National History Day exhibit. Orientation, Segmentation and Explanation addresses overall exhibit design and Levels of Text demonstrates the importance of titles and font size in clear exhibit design. Click here for step-by-step instructions on how to cut fomecore or gatorboard.

Word Limit
There is a 500-word limit for student-composed written materials on an exhibit. View examplesof how to count words and what constitutes student-composed materials.

Creating Historical Paper Entries

After selecting a topic, a research paper involves three basic steps:

Collecting information
Organizing the information
Presenting it to the reader in a clear and interesting fashion

Writing Essays That Make Historical Arguments is an article that will help you prepare your paper.ach paper must have an annotated bibliography that is divided into primary and secondary sources. The entries should be in alphabetical order and correct bibliographic form.

Creating Performance Entries

The performance category can be one of the most exciting ways to participate in History Day, because it is the only category in which students present their research live.

Here are some suggestions for students who are preparing performances:

Choose a theme-related topic that has personal interest and that will work particularly well as a performance.
Decide whether the chosen topic will be most effective as a group or as an individual performance.
Research the topic first. Write important facts or quotes which might be important to the performance; write a thesis statement, supporting statements, and a conclusion, and think about how these might become a part of the performance.
Prepare a script. Brainstorm about general ideas and the ways they might be presented. If a group is performing, each member should describe different ways that the characters might interact. When writing the script, make sure it contains references to the historical evidence found in the research. Using actual dialogue, quotations or excerpts from speeches are good ways of putting historical detail into the performance. Remember that the script should center on the thesis statement, supporting statements and the conclusion.
Be careful not to simply present oral reports on individuals which begin when they were born and end when they died. Instead, become the historical figure and write a script around an important time or place that will explain the major ideas.
Prepare the set. Think about different types of sets which might help in depicting the topic. Is there a prop that is central to the story?

Creating Web Site Entries

What is a web site?
A History Day web site is a computer-based representation of your research and argument that incorporates both textual and non-textual content (e.g. images, songs, interviews, videos, and other media) to engage and inform your viewer about your topic. A web site is more than just an electronic paper or an exhibit on a computer. Through a web site you are able to incorporate nontextual elements with which a viewer can interact.

Primary Sources

Links

Using primary sources in your classroom is a great way to teach history and help students connect to the past. These Web sites include lesson plans that help teachers incorporate primary sources into their classrooms.

Digital Classroom (on National Archives Web site):
http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html

Library of Congress, American Memory Web site:
http://memory.loc.gov

History Matters:
http://historymatters.gmu.edu

Gilder-Lehrman:
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/

Our Documents:
http://www.ourdocuments.gov

Digital History:
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/

Cyber Club

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

WELCOME!

Ky Directory of Archives, Libraries, and Historic Sites:

There are five contest categories:

National History Day

Primary Sources