National History Day Classroom Resources win national awards
WASHINGTON, D.C.— National History Day, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) together celebrate the awarding of two first-place prizes from…
WASHINGTON, D.C.— National History Day, the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) together celebrate the awarding of two first-place prizes from the 2016 National Association of Interpretation Media Competition. The first-place awards are for the website entry, Understanding Sacrifice: An ABMC Education Program about World War II in Northern Europe, in the Digital Media category and the literary entry, When the Akimotos Went to War: An Untold Story of Family, Patriotism, and Sacrifice During World War II, in the Book category.
Both entries were deemed remarkable and well-constructed by the judges. Understanding Sacrifice was cited as “very interpretative and attractive”; When The Akimotos Went to War was described as “descriptive…allowing the reader to transport to a different time, while still being relatable.”
The resources were created through the Understanding Sacrifice program. This year-long professional development opportunity takes eighteen teachers on a journey of exploration and discovery through the lives of American heroes of WWII. Travel fees, materials, and most costs are covered for all accepted teachers. In return, teachers produce educational materials in a variety of disciplines from art to science and, of course, history. These classroom resources are then hosted for free on abmceducation.org to help teachers around the world reinvigorate the teaching and learning of WWII. Educator Matthew Elms of the Singapore American School went above and beyond last year and turned his research into a non-fiction book. When the Akimotos Went to War: An Untold Story of Family, Patriotism, and Sacrifice During World War II can be downloaded for free at abmceducation.org and is available for purchase from the United States Government Printing Office.
“National History Day takes great pride in creating meaningful classroom resources for teachers around the world,” said NHD Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “We thank the National Association of Interpreters for acknowledging our hard work and dedication to improving the teaching and learning of history. The teachers who contributed to these projects were among the best with whom we have worked, and the resources they produced, as this award proves, are excellent.”
The National Association of Interpretation (NIA) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional organization dedicated to advancing the profession of heritage interpretation, currently serving about 5,000 members in the United States, Canada, and more than thirty other nations. Individual members include those who work at parks, museums, nature centers, zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, historical and cultural sites, commercial tour companies, and theme parks. Commercial and institutional members include those who provide services to the heritage interpretation industry.
National History Day®, the American Battle Monuments Commission,the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media, and the Department of Veterans Affairs have partnered to present the 2017 Understanding Sacrifice program. In July 2017, a select group of eighteen educators will follow in the footsteps of history as they visit WWII historic sites and American cemeteries in San Francisco, Honolulu, and Manila. Applications for the 2017 Understanding Sacrifice program are now open and must be received no later than midnight on Friday, September 2, 2016. More information on applying for the Understanding Sacrifice program can be found at abmceducation.org/apply.
About National History Day
National History Day® is a nonprofit education organization in College Park, MD. Established in 1974, NHD offers year-long academic programs that engage more than half a million middle- and high-school students around the world annually in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. These research-based projects are entered into contests at the local and affiliate levels, where the top student projects have the opportunity to advance to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD also seeks to improve the quality of history education by providing professional development opportunities and curriculum materials for educators. NHD is sponsored in part by Kenneth E. Behring, Patricia Behring, HISTORY®, Jostens, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, Southwest Airlines, the Joe Weider Foundation, and the WEM 2000 Foundation of the Dorsey & Whitney Foundation. For more information, visit nhd.org.
