History Day Celebration
Hood River New School hosted its annual student project expo on Friday March 15.
New School students have been participating in Oregon History Day, a statewide affiliate of the National History Day® program. OHD is a student-directed, project-based, interdisciplinary learning program that challenges students to deepen their research skills. Each student chose a history topic related to the theme ‘Turning Points in History’ and learned how to deepen their search skills beyond 'Googling', delving into online archives, libraries, primary visual sources, and in some cases, interviewing experts on their topic. Next, they learned how to develop a robust thesis and organize primary and secondary sources that support their argument. Finally, they chose a medium with which to convey their learning, from essays to documentaries, dramatic performances to museum-style exhibits. Their hard work has paid off, and students are ready to share some fascinating and impressive projects with the community.
Student projects included digital documentaries, dramatic performances, websites, and history dioramas on various topics from history including the history of mental healthcare in America, The Battle of Midway, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, Tupac Shakur’s influence on the history of hip-hop, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Haitian Revolution, Women’s Hockey and much much more.
We’re pleased to announce that seven student projects will be entered into the state Oregon History Day competition hosted on April 13, 2024 at Willamette University. Students competing at state will travel to Salem prepared to field questions related to their project and their process from a panel of judges. They’ll be judged on their research project as well as their competition day responses.
We’re so impressed by the effort and enthusiasm all students have demonstrated throughout this unit and are rooting for success at State!