History Fair

We've all heard of science fairs, but what about a history fair? Recently,  another 4th grade teacher and myself put together our school's first history fair.

In most (if not all) states, the 4th grade social studies curriculum calls for students to learn about their state's history. I love teaching North Carolina history! There are so many interesting things that have happened here.

We decided to give the history fair a try and the event was held this past Friday. It went really well. All the parents and staff seemed to really enjoy it. Of course, there are things we'd like to tweak and change for next year, but overall I'm thrilled with how it turned out.

Not only was this project a great way for the students to learn more about their state, but it was also a great experience for them. They were able to practice their speaking skills as well as differentiating their speaking depending on who they were talking to. 

How to host your own history fair:

About 5 months before the event:
1. Create a rubric of what the students will be graded and judged on.
2. Create a list of possible topics to guide the students.
3. Decide on a date for the history fair.
4. Decide what classes will be participating.

About 3-4 months before the event:
1. Introduce the event to students.
2. Show them examples of types of projects.
3. Teach them how to cite sources if they haven't already learned this.
4. Send home a letter introducing the project to parents.
5. Have students pick a topic. (We had students turn in their top 3 choices for a topic and we assigned them a topic from there so that no two students in the same class had the same topic.)
6. Instruct students to begin the project and let them know when it is due.
*You can view this page to see the information we gave to our students.*

About a month before the event:
1. Have students sign up for a day to present their project to their class a week before the actual event.
2. Send out a letter/email to parents or ask businesses or the PTA for donations for prizes.
3. Decide on what prize categories you want to have.
4. Find judges to judge and score the projects.
5. Ask for parent volunteers to help with traffic control during the fair. 

A week before the event:
1. Have students present their projects to their class. Let their classmates give feedback. Let the students know they can take the feedback and improve on their project if they'd like.
2. Send an invitation to your event to your students' parents and the school.
3. Make thank you cards for the judges.
4. Sort the prizes to decide what each winner gets.
5. Create a score sheet for the judges based on the rubric.

The day of the event:
1. Have clipboards and score sheets ready for the judges.
2. Set up projects.
3. Remind students of their expectations during the fair.
4. Stand back and watch your students shine.

Here are some photos from our event:
 
We gave the judges a cup full of brownies and they had a badge to wear. We dressed up for the sessions we did with the kids in the morning. I had the kids make Cherokee pottery.