Event

Project-Based Learning in the Social Studies Classroom: An Introduction to NHD in Massachusetts

Wednesday, February 28, 2024 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST
Online / NOTE: times are shown in EST

Dates and Locations: 

Register to attend.

Project- based learning (PBL) builds student engagement, fosters effective communication and collaboration, and allows students to wrestle with complex questions. The National History Day (NHD) model guides students in grades 6–12 through a semester of historical research and inquiry, interpretation, and creative expression. Harnessing the effectiveness of student-centered, project-based learning, NHD asks students to conduct primary and secondary source research on a historical topic and present their work as a documentary film, website, performance, paper, or exhibit. During this course participants will explore the NHD program from the inside out and learn to use the tools of NHD to build and scaffold all of the skills-based content standards for History and Social Science Content in MA, including: 

Participants will also learn firsthand, from students and teachers, how participation in History Day promotes student engagement, builds confidence, and encourages autonomy. Finally, participants will develop a manageable and realistic instruction plan to bring the power of History Day and PBL to their students. 

This workshop is offered for Grade 6-12 educators in Massachusetts. Participants can earn 67.5 PDPs, ALCs for BPS (amount TBA), or 3 graduate credits with Worcester State University (for an additional fee of $375). 

This is a virtual course, with one required in-person day at one of our NHD MA Regional Competitions. It will be presented in English with English auto-generated captioning for virtual sessions, and ASL translation and live captioning are available upon request during registration (please place requests for captioning or translation by 2/12/24). 

Register to attend.

For more information, questions, or further accessibility requests, please contact us at psampson@masshist.org.

Upcoming Events

Social Reform and Identity Formation in the 17th Century - A Panel Discussion
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Hybrid / NOTE: times are shown in EST
Tuesday, April 1, 2025 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM EST
This panel investigates forms of social control in 17th century New England. Arthur George Kamya’s paper examines the regulation of distilled liquor in 17th century Massachusetts Bay Colony, exploring how authorities navigated competing moral, economic, and security imperatives. Initially targeting a cross-section of colonists, liquor laws evolved to focus on servants, Native Americans, and eventually African Americans. The colony's approach shifted from moral censure to pragmatic revenue generation, with officials using fines and licenses to fund government operations. Kamya’s study illuminates how alcohol regulation became a tool of social control, state-building, and the construction of racial hierarchies in colonial New England, offering insights into the complex interplay between commerce, governance, and identity formation in early America. As discussed in Alice King’s work, Connecticut adopted a notable strategy towards certain Indigenous populations during the initial decades of settlement, attempting to control and exploit Native communities by turning them into colonial tributaries who would provide essential supplies, wampum, and military aid. King’s paper considers the evolution of tributary politics at the end of the seventeenth century after the Dominion of New England and Glorious Revolution had destabilized colonial authority and left colonists vulnerable to attack by French and Native forces, including the Wabanaki Confederacy during King William’s War, 1689-1697, when Connecticut leaders sought to raise soldiers for New England’s defense from these historic tributary communities.
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