History Fair and the Amazing Race

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

In the weeks leading up to our winter break, students in U.S. History have two foci: winning the LMSA Amazing Race, and working on their history fair projects. Below I'll explain what we're doing for both, and where we're going from here.

AMAZING RACE
Inspired by the reality TV show, students in all U.S. History classes are competing in a series of 10 challenges in a (virtual) race across the United States! Okay, so our prizes might not be a million dollars, but the overall winners of the race will receive a free quiz pass, and winners of each leg of the race will receive bonus points.

Our goal for creating the amazing Race was to make geography fun. In teams of 3 and 4, students complete two challenges per day in which they answer trivia questions about things like national parks, sports teams, and landforms. Teams must research the answers to each question and then plot their answers on a U.S. map. The team who answers all questions correctly receives a clue to take them to the next round.

So far, teams have completed three challenges and seem to be having fun while doing so. There's a competitive spirit in class lately and next week one team will be crowned winners of the Amazing Race:LMSA

HISTORY FAIR
In between competitions, and for homework, students have been working on starting their history fair projects. This year's theme is "Innovation in History:Impact & Change." At this point, students should have selected a topic and started researching. Students in the colloquium I teach with Mr. Linderman should have a completed annotated bibliography and a working thesis statement.

There are 4 options for creating a history fair project: a historical essay, an exhibit, a performance, or a documentary. In February (date to be determined), U.S. History and colloquium students throughout the school will compete in a LMSA History Fair. Winners from this round who have a project with a Chicago connection will be eligible to compete in the city competition in March.

History fair is a challenging, but also a rewarding process. It requires a lot of work, but the pay-off can be tremendous. Last year we sent students to state and national finals and some teams earned cash prizes. Two years ago, Ms. Myers guided a team of students to the national competition where they won a $5,000 prize. But, even if teams don't walk away with cash or top prizes, students learn to become researchers and historians--thus better arming themselves for college. Additionally, students gain a wonderful sense of accomplishment for adding their own voices and research to otherwise understudied fields.

Students in my U.S. History classes will have annotated bibliographies of 6 sources (2 must be primary) due on Wednesday, December 16th.

Please feel free to post and questions or comments!