Cleveland Teacher Workshop and Local Resources

Last Friday, NHD-OH held another workshop for History Day teachers, this time in Cleveland. The teachers who attended were great and came up with some fun topics while brainstorming. Some examples were:

Gay rights
Black Power movement
White supremist as a form of reaction
Uncle Tom's Cabin as a reaction to the fugitive slave law
Bloshevik Revolution
Literature- looking at authors who wrote about reforms in society
MTV as it revolutionized the music industry

Local Topics
Another topic discussed was students researching local topics. The workshop was held at the Cleveland Public Library and 2 of their staff members spoke with the teachers about resources and collections available at the library. They told the teachers the library has a large photo collection from the Cleveland Plain Dealer archives (if you are in Cleveland or can take a road trip there I suggest you do! They even showed us photographs from the Boxer Rebellion! The library suggested you call them first to see what they have on your subject: Photos@cpl.org). We also visited the map collection and special collection at the CPL and learned they have MANY sources available for student research.

Even if you are not in Cleveland, there are many resources available at local libraries and historical societies. We encourage you to check these out in your area! Even if you are researching a broader topic in American History, for example, the New Deal, women's suffrage, or World War II, your local library, museum, or historical society might have some wonderful resources about how that event or topic affected your local area. You can use that evidence to support the broader picture of your topic. Don't forget about universities in your area as well. Most university libraries have special collections or archives that contain primary sources. It's always best to give places a call or send an email before you visit, because the staff will be able to tell you what they have on your topic. Plus it will save you time before you go! Be sure to mention you are working on a History Day project. If you want to find out some of the organizations in your area check out the directory for the Ohio Local History Alliance- you can search by county or town. This is not a total list for Ohio but it will help get you started.

Have you used local resources for History Day before? Share your stories with us!