Suffolk Public Library's Homeschool Hub History Fair Projects

Suffolk Public Library’s
               Homeschool Hub History Fair Projects
                                              Fall 2018

Celebrate history with us! All homeschoolers and their parents are invited to participate in the
history fair at 2 pm on December 5th at North Suffolk Library and December 11th at Morgan
Memorial Library. In preparation for the history fair, each student or family can develop a project
with the help of parents to present at the fair. The fair is open to all homeschoolers, not just those
participating in the Homeschool Hub series.

There is an application, so we can accurately prepare. The completed application is due Friday,
November 30th, 2018 and may be returned to any Suffolk Public Library location (Attn: Deborah)
or e-mailed to dward@suffolkva.us.

What is a history fair?

A history fair is like a science fair! Students find an interesting topic in history to research and
create a project around that era. It could be about a person or event in history. It is a way to provide
an opportunity to creatively explore an era of history. The goal is to develop a deeper understanding
of a period in history. The work will be self-directed at home. Parents are encouraged to offer
emotional support and reminders, but to allow children to do most of the project by themselves.
We want this to be a fun learning experience and something that will work within your curriculum.
During the fair, kids can explain their work to other kids. They can also look at all the other projects
and ask other students about their work.

Topic Assistance
   - What interests you!
   - Works within your curriculum topic (feel free to tweak to fit what you need)
   - At least one book used in researching the topic
   - At least one secondary source and at least one primary source (at least one primary for
      older students)
   - Topic needs to be prior to 1990
   - Avoid a topic that is too well known, too obscure, vague, or broad, and something that is
      historically insignificant where it is difficult to get information

Areas for Possible Topics
Arts, Literature, & Culture
Civil Rights and Social Justice
Education
Environment
Health
Immigration
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Labor & Business
Law & Politics, Community
Media
Science & Technology
War, Military
Women’s Issues

Think of your topic in terms of….
It’s context
The historical significance
Can it be supported with primary and secondary sources?
The historical impact of the topic or the change in its perception over time
Why and how did events develop as they did surrounding your topic
The causes and effects of your topic
Connect your topic to sources and information to fortify your historical argument

Exhibit/Display
Organized like a mini-museum
Give context & background
What’s your main idea & supporting evidence?
What is the impact & long lasting significance of your topic?
What (if any) conclusions can you draw?

Elements that can be included:
Timeline
Map(s)
Biographical Sketch
Journal Entries from point of few of event/person
Interviewing person/someone at event
Created portrait of person/scene or another created art piece
Diorama
Poem about event/person
Artifacts (Can be the whole project or part of a larger one)

For younger students, creating an artifact museum might be the best choice. These artifacts
represent or would be significant to the event/person.
    - At least five labeled physical objects (of why items were chosen, significance)
           o Our Example: For Johnny Appleseed we had an apple, apple seeds, flannel shirt,
               hoe, pot, and satchel
           o Another example: George Washington: false teeth, hatchet, $1 bill, crown, dog
               stuffed animal.

During the Fair:
Feel free to dress up!
Utilize your board and other props
You can have a short prepared presentation in character or not
Get ready to answer questions from Miss Deborah (and other students) about your person/event
and about any ephemera (fancy library term for stuff) brought in.

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Don’t forget to cite your sources! At least title, author, type of resource, date (if applicable), and
how to retrieve it. The whole point of citing your sources, is so it can be found by others. It
doesn’t need to be in any kind of format for our purposes. You can have a paper with your
sources listed, or some other means of referencing them.

Websites to Find Primary Sources

***Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/
 The Library of Congress website has many avenues to explore that will lead to a wealth of
primary source material.
        https://catalog.loc.gov/ (LOC Catalog)
        https://www.loc.gov/collections/ (LOC Digital Collections)
        https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ (LOC Search Historic American Newspapers)

               Primary Source Help from Library of Congress
               http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/
               http://www.loc.gov/teachers/primary-source-analysis-tool/
               http://www.loc.gov/teachers/usingprimarysources/

National Archives
***https://www.docsteach.org/documents
***An excellent resource!
https://www.archives.gov/

Digital Public Library of America
https://dp.la/
Discover images, texts, videos, and sounds from across the United States

New York Public Library Digital Collection
https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/

LIFE Magazine Photo Archives (Hosted by Google)
http://images.google.com/hosted/life
Search millions of historic photos from the 1860s to 1970s!

Making of America
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moagrp/
19th century publications scanned and searchable

Associated Press (AP) Video Archive on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHTK-2W11Vh1V4uwofOfR4w

Studs Terkel Audio
https://studsterkel.wfmt.com/
Hundreds of interviews with artists, writers, musicians, politicians and activists provide unique
and important insights to many History Fair topics.

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Another link that might be helpful…
Helpful Research Links from National History Day
https://www.nhd.org/student-resources
Organization and Institutions
Museums and Historic Sites
National Libraries, Archives and Directories
US History Primary Sources and Major Websites
        (Civil War, African American History, Native American History, Military History,
Colonial History, US Government History, Presidential History, Immigration & Genealogy,
Women’s History, Western US History, World History Primary Sources and Major Websites,
Photos, Maps, and Music)

                                                         Examples of Displays

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Our examples of displays:
                                 Left: Our example of a display for
                                 Johnny Appleseed
                                 Below: Our example of a timeline
                                 for Johnny Appleseed

Example of Artifacts:

Artifacts for Johnny Appleseed
Apple
Apple Seeds
Flannel Shirt
Hoe
Pot
Satchel

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