NHD is excited to bring the Historical Argumentation Webinar Series back in fall 2023. This webinar series, featuring resources from the Library of Congress, helps teachers develop an argumentation plan as a model for their students.
Thanks to a grant with from the Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program, 60 spots (at least one from each NHD affiliate) in the course will be available at no cost to participants.
The course will run from August 16 to December 15, 2023. Teachers who successfully complete the course will have the chance to receive three graduate extension credits from the University of San Diego or 90 professional development hours. The course will include four live programs, which participants can attend live or watch the recording (specific dates will be announced later). If selected for a spot in the course, teachers agree to lead two sessions sharing what they learn with colleagues and engage in the National History Day program in the 2023/2024 academic year. The details:
Who is eligible? Teachers or librarians in grades 6-12. Teachers may teach Social Studies/History, English/Language Arts, or Special Education.
How do you apply? The application window has now closed. All applicants should look for an email on Monday, July 17 with more information.
Do you have questions? Email programs@nhd.org.
What do past participants in this course say?
Did participation in this program change the way you approach historical argumentation in the classroom? In what way(s)?
- “Absolutely! The review process in this program helped me put myself in the point of view of my students by completing these assignments and giving and receiving feedback. I will be using this same process for my students during the NHD process and other major projects.”
- “I can help students form and support an argument. I love the way that we are learning to help not only ourselves but future classes as well. I also love how we now have further information for classes or ideas for NHD projects. I have never done the NHD program and now I want to!”
- “I believe I will start with primary sources and how they drive an argument. I really liked the three-bucket approach and will use that with my students. Finally, I really felt the graphic organizer that we used for our final project was helpful and I will use that resource with my students. The textbook has fantastic ideas and I will pull lessons from that as well.”
- “Definitely. I’ll do more modeling and scaffolding of skills, as well as digging in with more depth into the argumentation portion of each project.”
- “I am walking away with a more thorough understanding of the skills required of historical argumentation along with several methods of guiding my students through the process of argumentation. I am leaving with ready-to-use tools that I will incorporate into my annual NHD project development with my students. The historical thinking skills are something I will be spending more time in from the start of the school year. The graphic organizers for thesis and argumentation development are tools I will definitely use to help my students build their own arguments. I will be referencing my notes and resources from this program over and over again.”
- “Yes, my co-advisor and I (he took this course as well) are already talking about how this course is going to shape how we approach NHD next year. We tended to give students a lot of independence in the research process, which worked great for some students, but some really struggled getting started and a few even decided to call it quits after a few weeks. The book we read with this course provides activities and organizers that we plan to incorporate next year to provide more scaffolding for students at the beginning of the process.”
- “I can’t wait to go through all my notes and the videos this summer to prepare my lessons using all the awesome strategies I learned. I will also use the Library of Congress more in my classroom.”
- “As an ELA teacher I don’t need to cover historical argumentation as a standard, but I do need to cover argumentative essays and non-fiction reading. I’ve discovered many ways I might use primary sources in the ELA classroom. I’m eager to use them with background information when students read novels like A Christmas Carol or Red Scarf Girl.”
