Asking students, “What do you want to research for your National History Day project?” can overwhelm them. As a result, they
may simply opt for something that sounds familiar rather than exploring topics outside their comfort zone. One particularly
effective way to get students really thinking about topics is to put them in control. Start by giving the class a list of broad topical
areas, such as political history or public history. You can use either the more specific terms (figure 1) or the more generalized
descriptions (figure 2), based on the age and ability of the students in your class.
Figure 1
political history
social history
military history
economic history
rural history
family history
ethnic history
labor history
religious history
women’s history
urban history
cultural history
public history
history of education
diplomatic history
history of govern ment
history of the common man
environmental history
demographic history
intellectual history
Figure 2
I would like to study….
Governments, laws, and who is in control
How people lived
How people worship and express religious beliefs
Art, culture, music, sports and other forms of entertainment
How militaries operate
How nations agree or disagree with each other
How women and other groups earned equal rights in
society
The growth and development of cities
The history of a particular group of people within a larger
society
How ideas develop in society
The story of my family’s roots
How money affects peoples’ lives
How the physical world influences how people live
What happens when large groups of people move from
one part of the world to another
The development of the rural parts of a nation
The way workers operate
How ordinary people live
How governments develop and change over time
NATIONAL HISTORY DAY 2015
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