History: Project Ideas

End of Semester Interest Projects.

Assignment:  Choose a topic related to U.S. History, 1900 - Present.  Develop research questions that can be used to find out about your subject.  Find at least three sources of information for your research.  Take notes.

Write a 3-4 page essay that explains your research.

Create a visual product (picture, poster, digital illustration, slideshow, model, collage, etc.) that illustrates your topic.

Deliver a 3-5 minute talk to your class that explains your research.

Link to CA Dept. of Education

Here are some ideas put forth by students so far:

"Dead Rock Stars"

Choose three popular musicians who are deceased.  Create a research paper that details:

Life and career
Where and how they died
How their work was influenced by their times / culture
Their impact on culture

Visual Product:  Design a concert poster for each musician.

"Arms of Vietnam"

Research infantry, artillery, and chemical weapons used by U.S. forces in Vietnam.  For each category:

Describe the different types of arms used
Explain how they were intended to be used
Analyze how effective they were at their intended purpose.

"Harlem Renaissance"

Research trends in literature, music, and art of the Harlem Renaissance, with special focus on writers (e.g., Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes).

What were trends in literature and art of the time?
What does the art and music of the H.R. reveal about the culture?
What does the literature reveal about the culture?

Visual Product:  3 Posters:  Art, Music, and Literature

"Dropping the Atomic Bomb"

Would we have survived the war if we didn't drop it?
Were there any other options?
What did it take to make Truman decide to drop it?

"Revolution of the Slow Food Movement"

How did the Slow Food Movement start and spread?

What are the goals of the Slow Food Movement?

What have they achieved?

"The 19th Amendment"

What were women's lives and opportunities like before the 19th passed?

By what process was the amendment passed?

How did - or didn't - women's lives improve after the amendment passed?

"World War II - Causes, Course, and Consequences"

"Aircraft of World War II"

"Agent Orange"

"History of the Internet"

"Human Rights and Domestic Workers"

"History of Aerial Warfare"