Minnesota Social Studies Standards and History Day
Historical Skills Standards - Grades 4-8
Sub-Strand |
What the Standard Requires… |
What History Day Teaches… |
Standard Met |
A. Concepts of Time |
Students will acquire chronological thinking skills by developing a chronological sequence of persons, events and concepts. |
Students develop timelines and graphic representations of historical narratives to include in their presentation. |
Yes |
B. Historical Resources |
Students will identify, describe and extract information from various types of historical sources. Students will assess the credibility and determine the appropriate use of different sorts of sources. |
Students will find and analyze letters, diaries, books, newspaper accounts, oral histories, material artifacts, maps, statistics, web resources and other sources and will determine their historical value. |
Yes |
C. Historical Inquiry |
Students will define a research topic and identify, locate, and use repositories of research materials. Students will develop strategies to find, collect and organize historical research. |
Students select a topic appropriate to the year’s theme and will locate and search libraries, Internet repositories, historical societies, historic sites and archives as appropriate to their topic. |
Yes |
C. Historical Inquiry |
Students will understand the distinction between primary and secondary sources and how secondary sources maybe have a different interpretation or perspective than primary sources. Students will understand the concepts of historical context and multiple causation and will create a timeline of their topic that illustrates the relationship to other events. |
Students are taught the distinction between primary and secondary sources and must correctly classify their sources in a bibliography. Students will place their topic within its historical context and analyze cause and effect relationships. Students may create and present a timeline as a portion of their presentation. |
Yes |
C. Historical Inquiry |
Students will analyze how historians present their work in various formats, including papers, exhibits, documentary films and theater. Students will articulate a clear thesis statement to explain the historical relevance of their topic and will learn how to cite sources and document their research in the form of a bibliography. |
Students will select a presentation medium for their project and learn the skills to create a paper, an exhibit, a documentary or a performance. Students will develop a thesis statement to explain the historical relevance of their topic and will cite their research in a bibliography. |
Yes |
Historical Skills Standards - Grades 9-12
Sub-Strand |
What the Standard Requires… |
What History Day Teaches… |
Standard Met |
A. Historical Inquiry |
Students will define a research topic that requires in-depth research, with an emphasis on primary sources. Students will apply strategies to find, collect and organize historical research. |
Students select a topic appropriate to the year’s theme and will conduct in-depth research, including primary sources, as appropriate to their topic. |
Yes |
B. Historical Inquiry |
Students will understand the use of secondary sources to provide a background, and will compare and contrast primary sources to analyze first-hand accounts. Students will understand the historical context of their topic and how it was influenced by other events. |
Students will study secondary sources to provide a background of their topic, and will use various primary sources to compare and contrast first-hand accounts. Students’ research will help provide historical context of their topic. |
Yes |
