NHDNH with UBD
Applying UBD to NHD to Build High Quality PBL Programs for Guided Inquiry All Year Long
How to implement NHD in the Classroom?
First, remember NHD is not just a day, it's an experience. Teaching research methods, social science questioning, primary source analysis, and working with documents should be an every day experience in social studies. Check out the FREE resources from the Moose on the Loose or Investigating History for middle school sources and inquiries. Check out Digital Inquiry Group or the Remedial Herstory Project for high school sources and inquiries. Teaching inquiry and with sources everyday sets students up for independent research.
There are several approaches to doing NHD in the classroom. Some do it as an after school club that meets weekly. Some do it like 20% time, a concept originated by Google, and use every Friday for their NHD projects. Others sprinkle it in periodically during the year. We recommend a week in September, a week in October, a few weeks for research in January, and a week in February to build projects. Over the course of the year, consider providing them with fewer guiding questions and more strategies for developing the questions themselves. The goal is to use class time to build CORE KNOWLEDGE and SKILLS needed to succeed at research.
Organizers & Calendar
September to October
Introduce the project and the theme. The theme changes every year, so consult the National Website in August to prepare. You can also order the "Theme Book" from them which provides you with examples of good topics on the theme.
In class, have students work with the theme and explore. Here's an organizer that may help: Dissect the Theme Worksheet
Spend time on the theme and give students ample time to explore topics. Consider allowing students to explore three topics before deciding. We'd encourage you to make them find one secondary source online and paraphrase it as a test of their interest. Maybe do this with three distinct topics.
November to January
Now is the time to deep dive on research. We encourage students to research before choosing their competition category and certainly before developing a thesis. Remember evidence should inform the thesis, not the other way around. There are no rules about how many sources students should have in their project. However, a ballpark by the would be around 20 for a Senior (high school) and 10 for Junior (middle school) by the time they reach States. More than that if they aim for Nationals. The rule book leaves this vague on purpose, because it's about the right sources, not quantity.
Come Research at Plymouth State's Research Library
This would be a great time of year to come visit us at PSU or invite your school librarian to present in your classroom. Lamson Library is a state-of-the-art integrated research and technology center that provides Plymouth State students, faculty, and staff with access to a wide variety of tools and materials, information technology resources and academic support services. This resource is also available to New Hampshire students through the education outreach program.
“Our goal is to expose kids to resources outside their school library and to help teach them the best way to get accurate information. It’s personally and professionally very satisfying to see them learn how to do this.” -Anne Jung-Matthews
Email Anne Jung Matthews at amjung@plymouth.edu to book a date.
At this stage, students become more independent. It would be a good idea to require a formative submission for each source they find to hold them accountable to progress. Consider having them submit their SOAPSTONE or HAPPY analysis for each document. We've also created an analysis document below that may be useful.
Simple Document Analysis formative
February to March
Once students have done their research, they will need help synthesizing their ideas down to a single thesis statement. It's important their thesis statement DIRECTLY tie in the theme so that the subsequent project is challenged to embed the theme throughout as well.
Once they have a thesis, the question then becomes, which category would best allow them to articulate or prove it. We have some ideas on this here.
Registration
Subscribe to our newsletter on the home page to make sure you get our emails and updates. States registration usually opens in February and closes in March. We encourage all schools to have a class or school wide fair, exhibition, or ideally competition replicating the state version before States. Schedule it at least a few days before the close of registration so you have time to register students and they have a little time to fix any things that came up at the school level.
Building the projects should be secondary to doing the research and building the argument, which at this point they've already done. We don't recommend more than two weeks of class time at this stage. There is eventually diminishing returns. Make each day exciting and push students to use every minute well. At the outset each day, perhaps the entry ticket could be making a to-do list. At the close, they should provide you with a status report.
After students build their projects, they should write a process paper. This is a competition requirement that is valuable to get students to reflect on their research methods and consider what worked, what didn't, and what they've learned about historical research.
