History Day Topics
You will work on History Day for months. It will be so much better if you work on a topic that interests you--something you are passionate about. You need to be dedicated and motivated to put the effort in!
You have to do research on your topic. You need to find primary sources as well as secondary sources.
As you consider topics, think about things that will make your work easier:
Talk to your parents about ideas. Talk to your friends. Go to local history and science museums to get ideas. Go to these pages of the National History Day and the Washington State History Day sites and click on links for more ideas:
http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/GettingStarted.htm and download the rule book
http://washingtonhistoryday.wetpaint.com/ and follow the links
You have to do research on your topic. You need to find primary sources as well as secondary sources.
As you consider topics, think about things that will make your work easier:
- Look for a topic that took place after the development of the printing press--it'll be a LOT easier to find primary source documents (after 1600).
- Look for a topic that that took place at least 25 years ago--it'll be a LOT easier to to show impact.
- Look for a local topic--it'll be a LOT easier to access primary source material and find people to interview.
- Look for a topic that involves a language you speak and understand. It's hard to do a topic where most of the primary source material is in a language you don't know!
- Look for a topic that is broad enough for you to find material.
- Look for a topic that is narrow enough that you can stay focused and effective.
Talk to your parents about ideas. Talk to your friends. Go to local history and science museums to get ideas. Go to these pages of the National History Day and the Washington State History Day sites and click on links for more ideas:
http://www.nationalhistoryday.org/GettingStarted.htm and download the rule book
http://washingtonhistoryday.wetpaint.com/ and follow the links
https://www.ncmuseumofhistory.org/national-history-day
History Day Resources
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Links To Good Sources
For a great intro and lots of suggested links, start with 6 Signs of Credible Sources.
For a list of serious search engines to explore, use Online Universities.
For information on how to evaluate web sources, go to:
For American history, start at the Library of Congress.
Look under "American Memory," "Prints and Photographs," and "Historic Newspapers." There is also a section on Veterans.
You can also try the Smithsonian, but the site is more difficult to navigate. In addition to resources on history and culture, they also have material on science and technology and the arts.
For brief background histories and extensive factual information on countries of the world, go to the CIA's World Factbook.
For British History, start with the BBC.
For local history, start with the Washington State Historical Society.
For medicine go to the CDC or the AMA.
Before we go on library field trips, go to each library on-line and do a search for resources. Write down titles and call numbers. For the University of Washington libraries, you also need to write down the location (since they have multiple libraries all over the campus).
For a list of serious search engines to explore, use Online Universities.
For information on how to evaluate web sources, go to:
For American history, start at the Library of Congress.
Look under "American Memory," "Prints and Photographs," and "Historic Newspapers." There is also a section on Veterans.
You can also try the Smithsonian, but the site is more difficult to navigate. In addition to resources on history and culture, they also have material on science and technology and the arts.
For brief background histories and extensive factual information on countries of the world, go to the CIA's World Factbook.
For British History, start with the BBC.
For local history, start with the Washington State Historical Society.
For medicine go to the CDC or the AMA.
Before we go on library field trips, go to each library on-line and do a search for resources. Write down titles and call numbers. For the University of Washington libraries, you also need to write down the location (since they have multiple libraries all over the campus).
- Poulsbo and Sylvan Way branches of the Kitsap Regional Library
- Seattle Central Library
- University of Washington Libraries