Athens, Ga. – More than 150 6th- through 12th-grade students and teachers representing 32 counties in Georgia, will participate in the District I History Day Competition on Saturday, Feb. 7. This annual competition, sponsored by the University of Georgia Office of Academic Special Programs, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Clarke Central High School.
National History Day provides a way for students in Georgia to study and learn about historical issues, ideas, people and events. It also provides students with reading, writing, research and communication skills that prepare them for careers in business, law, medicine, computer science, teaching and countless other disciplines.
During the 2008-2009 school year, students were invited to research topics related to this year’s theme, The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies. “The competition has two divisions–junior and senior–based on school grades. Students research historical subjects, create entries, and compete in district, state and national contests,” said David Dalton, coordinator of the Office of Academic Special Programs. “They acquire useful historical knowledge and perspective, and develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills that will help them analyze information and make effective decisions in their future professional and personal lives.”
District I participating counties include Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Dawson, Elbert, Fannin, Forsyth, Franklin, Greene, Gwinnett, Habersham, Hall, Hancock, Hart, Jackson, Jasper, Lumpkin, Madison, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Oglethorpe, Putnam, Rabun, Rockdale, Stephens, Taliaferro, Towns, Union, Walton, White and Wilkes.
Nationwide, 700,000 students and 40,000 teachers participate in National History Day programs annually. More than 2,000 students from across the country attend the national contest (from 48 states, the District of Columbia, Department of Defense Schools and American Samoa).
For more information, call 706/542-7623 or see www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/oasp.
The University of Georgia Office of Academic Special Programs equips Georgia’s pre-college students to succeed and to flourish in an increasingly complex and highly technical world by becoming problem solvers, critical thinkers, inquirers, reflective learners, and more productive and influential members of their communities.