One of the ways to have our students develop and practice 21st Century Learning Skills – communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity - is to get them involved in a rigorous and relevant student event called History Day.
Students choose a historical topic related to the annual theme and then conduct primary and secondary research. They look through libraries, archives, and museums, conduct oral history interviews, and visit historic sites. After they analyze and interpret their sources, and have drawn a conclusion about the significance of their topic, they will then be able to present their work in one of five ways: as a paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary, or a website. These projects can be entered into a series of competition where they are evaluated by historians and educators. This year 15 middle school students from Sequoia Union were selected to represent Tulare County at the State Competition.