2011-2012+History+Day+Theme+Information

__2011-2012 Theme __ __Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History __

__**Why Teach with a Theme? **__ Every year National History Day frames students' research within a historical theme. The theme is chosen for the broad application to world, national or state history and its relevance to ancient history or to the more recent past. This year's theme is **Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History**. The intentional selection of the theme for National History Day is to provide an opportunity for students to push past the antiquated view of history as mere facts and dates and drill down into historical content to develop perspective and understanding.

The NHD theme provides a focused way to increase student's historical understanding by developing a lens to read history, an organizational structure that helps students place information in the correct context and finally, the ability to see connections over time.

National History Day
 * ﻿Click on the following link to learn more about National History Day **

Before choosing a specific topic for History Day, it is important to understand the larger picture of the historical period. Once you have narrowed down the time period you are interested in, then a specific topic will be easier to determine. Review the sample time periods below to help determine what time period you are interested in researching.

• American Revolution • African American Fight for Freedom • Industrial Revolution • Women's Suffrage Movement (fight for the vote) • Progressive Era (fixing the problems of the nation) • Wartime in the USA (revolutionary related topics) • Harlem Renaissance Movement among African Americans in the 1920's • African American Civil Rights Movement (1860's to present) • Transportation Revolution (creation of a specific mode of transportation- airplane, car, train etc.) • Medical Revolution (creation of a specific medicinal advancement) • Cultural Revolution (analysis of a specific decade's revolutionary impact on society) • Women's Equal Rights Movement / Birth of Feminism • Revolution of Media Coverage (the transformation of society into the digital age)
 * Sample Time Periods:**
 * Any additional time periods you are interested in researching need to be approved by the teacher & be relevant to this years theme.**

• John Brown’s Revolt Against Slavery • The U.S. Constitution: Reform or Counter-Revolution? • Dorothea Dix and the Asylum Movement • The Coercive or Intolerable Acts: Britain’s Reaction to the Boston Tea Party • The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and Alcohol in America • From Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) to Nixon: The Revolution of Presidential Press Coverage • Television: A Cultural Revolution • The Black Panthers: Reforming Student Lunch Programs • Canals and Railroads: The 19th Century Reforms in Transportation • Hawks and Doves: American Reaction to the Vietnam War • The Airplane: Revolution in Warfare • Sit-ins and Freedom Rides: Reformers in Action • The Model T: Henry Ford Revolutionizes the Auto Industry • The “Red Scare”: American Reaction to Communism • Germ Theory: Revolution in Medicine • Pablo Picasso: Revolution in Art • Virginia Woolf and the Birth of Modern Feminism • Curt Flood and Free Agency in Baseball • Civil Rights Movement of 1950's and 1960's
 * SAMPLE TOPICS**

When is the revolution over? How did society change? Was the society better? Did the changes indicate progress? Or, did the society suffer and were the results more negative than positive?
 * There are important questions to ask of any revolution:**

These are the “So what?” questions that beg the NHD student to explain the significance of the revolution.