Three Mead students advance to finals in National History Day competition

Three of the six Mead Junior High School students who qualified for the National History Day competition in June advanced to the final round.

• Arun and Benjamin placed ninth in the nation in the Junior Group Website Category for their project focused on the O’Hare Expansion debate. They interviewed the mayor of Elk Grove Village and created a website detailing the many perspectives on expanding the airport. The website can be found at http://44339350.nhd.weebly.com/index.html.
• Armaan placed 13th in the nation in the Junior Individual Performance Category for his project entitled “Diplomacy at Fort Dearborn.” He prepared a one-man show about 10 minutes long where he portrayed four different historical perspectives during the War of 1812.
• Kevin, Glenn and William also qualified for nationals, with a first place finish at the state expo, in the Documentary category for their project entitled “Illinois Secession during the Civil War?” Their documentary addressed the historical issues that faced Illinoisans as states began to secede from the Union.

The theme this year was Debate and Diplomacy in History. About 100 Mead students worked from four to six months and competed at a local fair, a regional fair and the State History Expo on May 3. Professional educators and historians served as the judges.

According to http://www.nationalhistoryday.org, each year more than half a million students participate. Students choose a historical topic related to the theme, conduct research, analyze and interpret their sources, and then draw a conclusion about the significance of their topic. Students can present their work as a research paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary or a website.