Several Wilton students were award winners at the recent Connecticut History Day—Fairfield Regional competition. The program encourages exploration of local, state, national, and world history for students in grades 6-12.
CT History Day is one of 57 affiliate programs participating in National History Day (NHD), a year-long academic program for middle and high school students to conduct research on historical topics of interest. Students may base their project on a historical topic of their choosing, but it must connect to the 2016 NHD theme of Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History.
After selecting a historical topic, students conduct extensive research using libraries, archives, museums, and oral history interviews. Students analyze and interpret their findings, draw conclusions about their topic’s significance in history, and create final projects that demonstrate their work. Student researchers compete at either the middle or high school level, and can enter one of five categories as an individual or within a group: performance, website, research paper, documentary or exhibit. The projects are evaluated by professional historians and educators.
Among the Wilton students competing at the Fairfield Regional History Day, Saturday, March 19 at Sacred Heart University, the following Wilton children were prize winners and will advance to the CT History Day State Contest, taking place on April 30 at Central Connecticut State University.
Category: Group Exhibit, Senior Division
First Place: Rosie The Riveter: Women in the Workforce
Students: Isabel Saltzman, Hana Previte, Lauren White, Claire Graham
School: Wilton High School
Category: Group Documentary, Junior Division
First Place: Discovering The Land: A Life of Nathaniel Brown Palmer
Students: Julia Sexton, Sadie Kinnersley
School: Middlebrook School
Category: Group Documentary, Senior Division
Second Place: Panama Canal
Students: Patrick Moore, Thomas Anastos, Hari Nair
School: Wilton High School
There were 14 Wilton High School students in total who competed Saturday as part of the new WHS History Club. The club was founded last year by several students and a faculty advisor, Social Studies teacher Kenneth Dunaj, to celebrate their appreciation for social studies beyond the classroom. History club is open to all WHS students, and offers them the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of inquiry, critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills.
The Wilton High School student projects focused on the following subjects: 1960 Presidential Debate, Rosie the Riveter: Women in the Workforce, The Panama Canal, The Olympics, and The Girl Scouts. Since autumn, students have been collaborating together while conducting original and secondary research in order to develop a product for the CT Regional History Day contest. Four of the high school groups designed museum exhibits and one created a documentary film. All student entries needed to present an original thesis statement with supporting primary and secondary data. Unlike many of their peers from other high schools, the Wilton students did not have the opportunity to work on their projects in their daily history classes. The Wilton History Club students completed their projects outside of the normal school day.
A complete list of winners from the Fairfield regional competition can be found on the CT History Day website.
Connecticut History Day is led by Connecticut’s Old State House in downtown Hartford, with support from the Connecticut League of History Organizations and Connecticut Humanities’ website. Major funding for CHD is provided by Connecticut Humanities. Visit the Connecticut History Day website and the National History Day website to learn more.
