Students

Some of you may have students who are already thinking about primary sources for their History Day projects. But even if that step is far in the future for you and your students, it’s not a bad idea to start compiling a list of reliable websites where students can access some excellent primary sources. Of course, we always encourage students to get their hands on actual primary sources at libraries and archives, but the Internet is becoming a better and better resource for young researchers.

Here are a few sites that have some excellent primary sources available:

Library of Congress American Memory: Encourage your students to narrow the field as much as possible by choosing specific collections. The Teachers’ section of this website also has some excellent, subject-sorted sources.

National Archives History Day Resources: The Archives assembled some of their sources related to particular Innovation topics, as well as connections to other topics within the subject areas.

Harvard University Library Open Collections: Harvard has collected some intriguing sources based on four different topics — Women and Work, Immigration, Diseases and Epidemics, and Expeditions and Discoveries. Women Working is particularly helpful.

Yale Law School Avalon Project: The documents from Yale Law span several thousand years, although more are available in recent centuries. The topics are mainly law and diplomacy.

Famous Trials: A law professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City has assembled documents and context about more than 50 famous trials, from the Trial of Socrates to the Trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

American Journeys: This collection contains thousands of documents related to the exploration of America, from 1000 to 1844, including the journals of Lewis and Clark.

There are many more fantastic websites with extensive primary sources, but these are a few reliable sites with vast holdings. If you encounter others, feel free to pass along the tip!

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Hey Students-

 
So, how are the History Day projects coming along? Everything making sense? Have you been able to connect your person’s actions to a legacy? I hope so, because as I am sure you know that the due dates for projects are fast approaching.

 
Need some last minute sources? Just use your library card. Going to your library is the quickest way to obtain some instant History Day help not only because of the books, but also because librarians will be excited to help you.

 
Also, with your library card, in most areas throughout the state, you can access their online databases. The best one for primary sources is the Historic New York Times online, which allows you to access historic newspaper articles.  This is like a google but for newspaper articles.  These articles are practically begging to be used on you projects so check it out! If you are unsure about the specifics of accessing the site you should contact your local librarian for assistance.

 
Good luck and see you all soon.

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Hey Students,

So back from break, and back in school… I remember that feeling like it was yesterday…

As school has started up again it means that History Day season is in full swing. We hope you guys are working hard at putting together an awesome project for this year…

 What’s that? You don’t even have a topic selected yet? No worries, we have you covered. This year we have expanded our outreach and are offering History Day specific events at libraries here at the Minnesota History Center, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. At these library events you can:

• Research your topic and find new sources
• Get individual help from History Day staff
• Receive advice from librarians
• Have fun with other History Day students!

The dates we have set up are as follows:

@ The Minnesota History Center Library - 9AM-12PM, January 17^th, 2009

@ Minneapolis: 

• Ridgedale Library - 5:30PM-8:30PM, January 12^th, 2009
• Minneapolis Central Library - 11AM-3PM, January 31^st, February 21^st, March 7^th, 2009

@ St. Paul:

• Rondo Outreach Library - 11:30AM-2:30PM, January 24^th, February 7^th and 14^th, 2009
• St. Paul Central Library - 3PM-6PM, January 12^th and 26^th, February 2^nd, 9^th, and 23^rd, 2009

Let us know if you have any questions.  We hope to see you there!

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Well kids, it’s that time of the year again. That means History Day! Over here at the History Center we are excited and working hard at making this year our best ever. This year we thought we’d get caught up on technology, so we created this blog. We hope you enjoy this portal over the coming weeks and months as we post important information and insider tips for making your History Day project the best it can be.

A bit about myself, I am Matt and I work with St. Paul Schools. I am a life-long St. Paul kid and a National History Day finalist from 1999 in the group performance category. I was also a History Day mentor during my college years at the U of M. I will be writing the student section of this blog and hope that you guys join in for some fun discussions and follow along with what is going on over here at History Day headquarters. I will try to post every other week for now, with plans to make it a weekly production as competition season nears.

As the season is underway, you all should be choosing topics and finding something that interests you. Remember you don’t want to do a boring topic, find that person who you want to investigate and learn a lot about.

So, with this year’s theme of the Individual in History: Actions & Legacies, I start off with the first insider tip of the season: DON’T DO A BIOGRAPHY! It’s going to have to be a bit deeper than that

Maybe this classic History Day clip will help…
National History Day: What’s your point?

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