What Can I Ask of
History? Choosing a Topic
and Setting the Stage for
Inquiry-Based Assessment
I
Lynne M. O’Hara
Director of Programs, National History Day
n school students are often told what they will learn. They are told what books to read, then instructed which steps to take
after they’ve finished the required reading. Rather than being a passenger in a learning experience, students who participate
in National History Day get to become the driver—to shift gears for themselves. By giving students agency, teachers can
unlock their potential in ways that no teacher-created assignment ever could.
This lesson sequence gets to the heart of an inquiry-based activity—how to set students up for success through the selection
of a clearly defined and manageable topic for a NHD project. It is based on the C3 Framework (College, Career, and Civic Life
Framework for Social Studies State Standards), developed by the National Council for the Social Studies. Designed to show the
unique disciplinary skills and applications of Common Core in History, Geography, Civics, and Economics classrooms, it is framed
around an inquiry arc: the idea that students should ask questions, be given the tools to dive into those questions, and then
ultimately be given an opportunity to answer the questions within a meaningful context. NHD is an excellent way to incorporate
Common Core and C3 into the Social Studies classroom.
In order for the C3 Framework to be effective, students need to develop good research topics and questions. Note that a research
question should always connect to the students’ interests, since they will likely be more engaged and willing to work much
harder to answer the question than they would on an assigned project. In addition, the question needs to be manageable in
scope. While it is impractical to propose a research question about broad topics that students might be interested in—such as
World War II, the Russian Revolution, Ancient Rome—it is often feasible to use such topics as starting points, to help students
develop questions that are more manageable in scope and topic.
The hardest part of many tasks is getting started. We have all stood in front of a messy closet, sighed, and closed the door again. For many
students, beginning a research project produces the same sensation: It can seem like an overwhelming task, and they may try to ignore it
for as long as possible. This lesson helps teachers lead students through the initial stage of research, an important foundation for sustaining
an inquiry across the C3 dimensions. Once students have the opportunity to develop a topic with a reasonable scope and sequence, a topic
that fits within the parameters established by the teacher and—most important—that piques their interest, then the process of inquiry
can begin. Teachers are guided through a process of staging an inquiry in which students develop a question (Dimension 1), explore that
question through an introductory research process (Dimension 2), establish a basic understanding of historical relevancy (Dimension 3),
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and then present their research proposal as a brief pitch to an audience for feedback (Dimension 4).
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2015