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Greetings from the State Coordinator
Greetings!
Welcome back! It's the start of a new school year and a new History Day season, and we've been working hard to get the year started right.
I want to thank all of you for working so hard on our behalf, writing letters and making calls to your legislators to ask them to support the continuation of the State funding for the program. It's been a bit of a bizarre budget season, and I am sorry to report that History Day has not been included in the 2011 State budget.
However, don't fret! The New York State Historical Association is dedicated to keeping New York State History Day up and running. It's just going to look a little different than in the past few years.
The good news is we have some tricks up our sleeve. We may not be able to physically travel to your schools this year, but we are thrilled to announce our new webinar programs that allow us to reach you in an interactive setting from our own desks! Details are in the story below.
And lastly, I am pleased to announce a new partnership we have made with the New York Council on the Humanities. We will be offering five workshops across the state that combine historic content from the Council's Speakers in the Schools program with practical classroom application using History Day. We'll have more details on this in next month's e-newsletter.
In the meantime, check out our new calendar of events to see what History Day activities are going on around the state this year: http://ny.nhd.org/Calendar.htm
I look forward to seeing you all at contests again this year!
Best wishes,
Tobi Voigt |
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2011 Annual Theme
 National History Day invites students to research topics related to the theme Debate and Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, Consequences.
Students' topics will center on a debate and/or a diplomatic event. A debate is a discussion involving one or more people with opposing viewpoints. Debates can be loud like an argument or quiet as in a discussion. Diplomacy can be one way of behaving within a debate. Diplomacy involves managing opposing viewpoints in a way that that keeps a debate civil and fair. Diplomacy is most often associated with international government relations. When leaders of two nations meet, they use diplomacy in their discussions to show respect for one another and to keep negotiations friendly. While students need only to focus on a debate or a diplomatic event, they are often intertwined. Students are encouraged to find a topic that includes both debate and diplomacy.
When considering debates and diplomatic events, students will also want to look for the successes, failures and consequences within them. How was the debate successful? In what ways did diplomacy fail? What were the long-term consequences of the debate? Does it still have impact today? These questions (and others) will help students place their debate or diplomatic event in a historical context and help them with their analysis.
Students need to remember that their topic must be historical in nature. It will be tempting to cover current events like the debate over global warming, music censorship, or health care. Students are encouraged to find a topic that is at least 30 year old (one generation) in order to address appropriately its historical context and significance. Topics that are more recent lack historical perspective, which is a critical part of any History Day project.
For more information on the annual theme, please see the National History Day annual theme sheet. You can download a PDF of the theme sheet at: www.nyshistoryday.org/theme.htm |
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NEW for 2010: History Day Webinars!
 NYSHD staff are pleased to announce the arrival of webinars! Webinars are interactive seminars conducted over the internet. They are live presentations that happen in real time. Users participate from their own computers and interact with others through chats, video feeds or with a microphone.
Webinars are free to teachers and students. We offer the following schedule of public webinars this school year, to be held once a month on a Thursday from 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Pre-registration is
required.
September 23 - Introduction to History Day
Join us as we take participants through the nuts and bolts of the History Day program. Participants will see a History Day documentary, hear student testimonials, and learn strategies for
implementing the program in the school or classroom.
October 28 - Explore the Annual Theme & Topics
Confused about this year's annual theme? Clueless about your topic? Staff and participants will work together to define the annual theme and brainstorm topic ideas
November 18 - Guide to Online Research
We can find almost anything on the internet these days, but how do we know if what we find is accurate, reliable and from a reputable source? Join us as we share best practices for internet research. Participants will get hands-on training on the Library of Congress's American Memory database.
January 21 - Creating your History Day Project
So, your research, analysis and thesis are all ready. Now it's time for starting your project! Join us as we share tips and tricks for creating strong websites, exhibits, documentaries and performances.
February 17 - Prepping for History Day Contests
Never been to a History Day contest before? Join this webinar and you'll learn everything you need to know about the contest structure: how to register, what to wear, how judging works, what to expect from the judges, and more!
To sign up for a public webinar, or to schedule a private webinar for your classroom, contact Tobi at t.voigt@nysha.org. |
| 2010 October Conference for Teachers
 The New York State Historical Association's annual October Conference for Teachers is a professional development opportunity focused on current issues, topics, concerns, and practices in social studies education.
Each year the conference attracts several hundred educators to the campuses of Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmers' Museum during the picturesque autumn of the Leatherstocking Region.
This year's conference will take place on Thursday, October 21, and Friday, October 22, 2010.
History Day teacher Jerry Hensler from La Salle School in Albany will present a session on using the History Day model of inquiry based learning to motivate difficult learners.
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New York State Archives Makes Resources Available Online
The New York State Archives has a variety of primary sources for teachers now available on Flickr and YouTube. These videos and images were all created by state agencies such as the New York Thruway Authority, the New York State Department of Commerce, State Education Department, and the New York State War Council. Videos include environmental messages, I Love New York videos, health public service announcements and explanations of what archives are and many more! Images on Flickr include geographical places such as Niagara Falls, agricultural images, labor in New York and many others! Many more videos and images are available on the New York State Archives website at http://www.archives.nysed.gov/a/images_video/index.shtml.
Also, they are highlighting a web tutorial that shows teachers how they can use historical records in the classroom. This tutorial is in two parts with part one explaining the basics of using historical records in the classroom and part two explaining how to combine DBQs with historical records. The tutorial can be found on SED's Curriculum and Instruction website at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/dbq/home.html. |
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Program Links
 New York State National History Day
Facebook Page  Program Sponsor
New York State Historical Association |
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