More than 20 Templeton Middle School (TMS) eighth graders will compete May 3 at the state level of the National History Day academic enrichment program held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Finalists were selected following National History Day (NHD) presentations held for regional level judges at Concordia University in February. This year’s theme was “Rights and Responsibilities in History.” TMS 8th grade social studies students have been working on the NHD projects for several weeks.
“This project allows students the opportunity to do a deep dive into a topic of their choice centered around an annual theme established by the National History Day organization,” explains Templeton Middle School Social Studies Teacher Rhonda Watton. “Students are able to collaborate with others if they want, they are able to discover a variety of primary sources, interview others and really be able to become an expert historian on their topics.”
National History Day is an academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12. Students present their conclusions in a written paper, a performance, an exhibit board, a documentary or a website.
Templeton Middle School students and their projects advancing to the state level are:
Group website:
- Alya Baldassi, Samantha Baumann and Kaitlin Schwartz – “Nazi Persecution of Jews”
- Akshita Viza, Samannvi Reddycherla and Leesha Vanchireddy – “The White Rose”
- Alternates: Paxton McFarland and Nat Pfannenstiel – “Japanese Internment”
Individual website:
- Kate Krueger – “Never ‘Normal’”
- Alternate: David Rowicki – “Korematsu v. United States”
Group exhibit boards:
- Alyssa Bougie, Lauren Bougie and Jillian Krueger – “The Radium Girls”
- Akshara Appadwedula, Janvi Senthil and Natalie Newman – “The Matchgirls Strike”
- Alternates: Priyanshi Das and Victoria Tran – “The Titanic”
Individual exhibit boards:
- Yudhister Banda – “Brown vs. Board of Education”
- Anushka Vijay – “The Matchstick Girl Strike of 1888”
- Alternate: Maddie Koch – “The Radium Girls: A Violation of Workplace Rights”
Paper:
- Henry Schultz – “Paul Marat and Ethical Responsibilities”
Group documentaries:
- Krishiv Kumar Badam and Pranit Arora – “The Discovery of the Structure of DNA”
- Gabrielle Konshak, Ananya Appedwedula and Averi Grier – “The Unseen Suffering”
- Alternates: Julian Daniels and Braedyn Lutterbach – “The Decline in United States Passenger Rail Usage”