It’s late on a Friday afternoon and about two dozen Northfield Middle School sixth-graders are staying after school. Some are working at computers. Others are cutting and pasting. Still others are rehearsing lines. And while there’s a lot of chatter and activity, as you would expect of a group of pre-teens, most of the students are on-task and hard at work.

The Friday after-school crowd is but a small part of the group of students working on History Day projects at the school.

Guided by teachers Krista Betcher, Chris O’Neill, Sarah Van den Akker, Rusty Kluver and Cheryl Barnes, 210 sixth-graders are creating History Day projects in preparation for their open house, which is Thursday. More than 500,000 students across the nation are expected to participate in National History Day this year—30,000 from Minnesota alone.

Students started the History Day process weeks ago by picking a research topic fitting the Day's theme, “Debate and Diplomacy: Successes, Failures, Consequences.” Unlike school projects that are completely teacher-driven, students doing History Day projects can choose what they research and how they present their results and can also choose to work on their own or with a small group.

The majority of the students create an exhibit—a three-panel display board covered with pictures and text about their topic but there are other options as well.

“Students who love technology are able to do a documentary or website. Theatrical students are able to do a performance,” said Betcher. “History Day is a chance to make history come alive in so many ways. Most students have never completed a project of such magnitude."

Indeed, with such a big project, said O’Neill, students need to figure out how to break the process down to create a project that has a clear point. In the process, students not only learn about their topic but develop skills in researching, cooperative learning and time management.

Some students tackle heady topics like the Cuban Missile Crisis or The English Reformation. Some choose to focus on a person in history like Rosa Parks or women’s rights advocate, Emma Willard. Still others choose a topic related to something they enjoy.

An interest in sports, for example, led Jackson Cade and Griffin Loecher to research the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott. A few students probably stretch the topic a bit, like Matthew Rehn and Brady Malecha’s choice to debate the existence of jolly old St. Nick. But no matter the subject, the students tackle their topics with gusto and put forth great effort to present their material in a professional manner.

Research from the National History Day organization indicates that NHD students “outperform their non-NHD peers on standardized tests in all topic areas.”

While their teachers are happy the students are excited and engaged, and parents are likely to be pleased with all their kids have learned, it’s the fact that the students have been learning about history and having fun in the process that matters most to them.


IF YOU GO
WHAT: History Day Open House
WHEN: 6-8 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: Northfield Middle School. Commons areas of Teams A and C.
WHO: Geared towards parents, this free event is also open to the public

MORE INFORMATION
National History Day website
Minnesota’s History Day website
NHD Works: Key Evaluation Findings