After months of intensive historical research, more than 70 students entered 40 projects into competition today at the Southeast Tennessee district competition for Tennessee History Day.
Held at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the competition was sponsored by the Chattanooga History Center and the Department of History at UTC.
In today’s competition, students in presented history-themed projects in a variety of formats – including museum-style exhibits, papers, web sites, documentaries and even live performances.
This year’s theme is Innovation in History: Impact and Change. Students were asked to examine how different innovations have shaped the course of history. Judges were university professors and history students, high school teachers, archivists and other public historians.
35 students took home awards today for their work.
The winners at today’s district competition are eligible to participate in the statewide Tennessee History Day competition, which will be held at the Legislative Plaza in Nashville on April 17. Tennessee History Day is organized by the Tennessee Historical Society and sponsored at the state level by the Tennessee Department of State and Humanities Tennessee. Winners in the statewide competition advance to the National History Day finals, which will be held in College Park, Maryland in June.
Nationwide, more than half a million students are expected to participate in some level of History Day competition, including 6,000 from Tennessee.
Most students begin preparing for the competition soon after the school year begins. Their teachers brainstorm with them to choose topics and provide them with the guidelines for entering the competition. Students may decide to enter as individuals or as members of a group.
National History Day’s impact goes well beyond the students who participate. Thousands of parents also get involved, making it a family affair. It also provides teachers with a unique alternative to what can be accomplished in the traditional classroom.
“History Day provides a great opportunity for students to learn skills they need for TCAP, but then to go much deeper,” says April Inman, a teacher who has been using History Day in her classroom for nine years. “Because students can choose a topic that is of special interest to them, they become invested in the process and the learning. History Day also gives them an outlet for their creativity by allowing them to choose from so many different types of projects to complete.”
Since 1974, National History Day has grown from a Cleveland, Ohio competition with about 100 students to a national academic program that engages 2 million people annually.
For more information about the History Day program in Tennessee, including details about the Southeast Tennessee district competition, visit our website at http://www.tennesseehistory.org/historyday.htm or contact Kelly Wilkerson at 615-741-8934 or by email at historyday@tennesseehistory.org
Complete List of Today’s Winners
Elementary Division
1st place to Alyssa Neuhoff of Walden Home School for her project on “From Nuisance to Innovation: Velcro.” Teacher: Linda Neuhoff
2nd place to Phillip Pedigo of the Signal Mountain Home School History Club for his project on “Nuclear Power: Improving Submarines.” Teacher: Maria Sabin
Junior Individual Exhibit
1st place to Turner Beth Bryant of Bryant Home School for her project on “Coca Cola Bottling.” Teacher: Suzy Bryant.
2nd place to Grant Stafford of the Signal Mountain Home School History Club for his project on “The Comfort of Cobblestone.” Teacher: Maria Sabin.
3rd place to Andrew Sabin of the Signal Mountain Home School History Club for his project on “The Hunley: Early Hunter.” Teacher: Maria Sabin.
Junior Group Exhibit
1st place to Chris Dowell and Cotie San of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for their project on “The Printing Press: The Bible to Twilight.” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
2nd place to Danielle Whited and Caitlin Dowell of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for their project on “Plowing Through History.” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
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3rd place to Gavin Thacker and Taylor Sewell of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for their project on “Innovations in Gunpowder..” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
Junior Individual Documentary
1st place to Todd Simmons of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for his project on “Rocks to Rockets: Weaponry Through Time.” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
Junior Group Documentary
1st place to Allison Anderson, Alexandra Knox, and Santana Mendoza of the Jam School for their project on “The Reluctant Mother: Amy Carmichael Changes the Lives of Untouchables.” Teacher: Patricia Anderson.
2nd place Dakota Dunn and Ben Lowrance of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for their project on “The Innovation of Weaponry During Flight.” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
3rd place to Jarrett Kilgore and Preston Evers of Lookout Valley Middle/High School for their project on “The Henry Ford Assembly Line.” Teacher: Danny Gaddy.
Senior Individual Exhibit
1st place to Caitlin Sudkamp of Walden Home School for her project on “A Matter of Time: John Harrison’s Sea Clocks.” Teacher: Linda Neuhoff.
Senior Individual Documentary
1st place to Vivian Hughbanks for her project on “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness: The Ideas that Changed the World.” Teacher: Sue Hughbanks
2nd place to Anthony Joslin of Polk County High School for his project on “The Assembly Line: A Technological Innovation that Connected the Social Classes.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance
3rd place to Kym Matthews of Polk County High School for her project on “Where Am I? The Impact and Innovation of the GPS.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance
Senior Group Documentary
1st place to Derek Roberts and Keoni Vidrine of Polk County High School for their project on “Wired to Wireless: The Impact of the Telephone on Communications.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance .
2nd place to Lloyd Mashburn and Tim Edgemond of Polk County High School for their project on “Nuclear Fission: The Radical Concept that Impacted Life and Death.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance .
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3rd place to Grant Smith, Robert Hernandez, and Wayne Moats of .Polk County High School for their project on “Black and White To Color: The Impact of TV on Society.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance .
Senior Website, Individual and Group Combined
1st place to Bobby Hernandez and Gary Moats of Polk County High School for their project on “Lights, Camera, Action: The Impact of Television on Children and Adolescence.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance .
2nd place to Earl Joslin and Montana Bazzell of Polk County High School for their project on “The Assembly Line: A Modern Innovational Change to an Ancient Concept” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance.
3rd place to Tyler Mashburn of Polk County High School for his project on “For Better of Worse: The Impact of the Atomic Bomb.” Teacher: Dewey Esquinance .