For more than 25 years, the National History Day program has promoted systemic educational reform related to the teaching and learning of history in America’s schools. The combination of creativity and scholarship built into the NHD program anticipated current educational reforms, making National History Day a leading model of performance-based learning.

Both NHD and NHDMO provide teacher workshops, printed curriculum materials, and links to the Internet sites of various research institutions, in order to aid teachers in the teaching of history.

• 2012 NHD Theme/Curriculum Book (2.95 MB. Also, hardcopy versions are available from the State Coordinator.)
• NHD and Meeting the Show-Me Standards, compiled by the Missouri State Archives.
• Possible Missouri Topics related to 2012 theme, "Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History."  Also see the topics list from 2002 on the same theme.
• Sample Topics List from NHD related to 2012 theme.
• Best Free Reference Websites for NHD students
• Resources and Examples available for borrowing, by teachers, on two-week loan from the NHDMO Office
• Master Teacher Network, classroom resources from National History Day in Minnesota
• NHDMO Lesson Plans (with Show-Me Standards):
  • Lesson One: Primary Sources
  • Lesson Two: Researching with Primary Sources and Databases
  • Lesson Three: Oral History
  • Lesson Four: William Clarke Quantrill and the Civil War
    • Primary Source Document 1: Miller, L.C., "Memoirs of the Life of Lee Caruth Miller, M.D.," 1903 (SHS-C2718), p. 7-9
    • Primary Source Document 2: Miller, L.C., "Memoirs of the Life of Lee Caruth Miller, M.D.," 1903 (SHS-C2718), p. 14-20
  • Lesson Five: St. Louis Royalty: The Busch Family
    • Primary Source Document 1: "Wedding Party: Marriage of Carlota Busch to John Flanigan Is Celebrated With an Extraordinary Reception" from St. Louis Post-Dispatch Pictures July 11, 1948 (SHS-C3403, Bernard F. Dickman Papers, 1900-1971, f. 39)
• Lesson Plans for teaching how to research using primary sources in the SHS Manuscript Collection:
  • World War II
  • Westward Expansion

Several organizations provide resources for historical research. Following are links to a few of them. Students may receive research assistance from repositories online, via e-mail, on the telephone, or by visiting the site in person. Students are encouraged to allow plenty of time for research. Most primary source documents are one-of-a-kind items that may not be checked out of the repository, although in many cases they may be photocopied for a fee.

PLEASE NOTE: Individual research institutions may charge a fee for additional staff research beyond what may be found on the website.

Research Repositories

• Carondelet Historical Society and Carondolet Historic Center (Susan E. Blow Kindergarten/Museum, Cleveland High School Display, Carondelet Memoriabilia)
• The Eugene Field House and St. Louis Toy Museum
• Harry S. Truman Library, Independence
• Humphrey Winterton Collection of East African Photographs, 1860-1960 at Northwestern University Library
• The John Wornall House Museum, Kansas City
• Library of Congress
• Mark Twain Project Online
• Missouri Center for the Book
• Missouri Digital Heritage Initiative
• Missouri History Museum, St. Louis
• Missouri State Archives, Jefferson City
• Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Missouri
• National Archives: National History Day Resources
• National Archives in the Central Plains, Kansas City
• National Postal Museum
• The Opper Project: Using Editorial Cartoons to Teach History, The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library
• Oral History Program, The State Historical Society of Missouri
• Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service
• Parker Library on the Web (Anglo-Saxon manuscripts)
• Powers Museum, Carthage
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Education Resources
• Smithsonian Institution (specific museums will link to their own research facilities)
• The State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia

General Resources

These links provide general research information and topic ideas.

• American Heritage Sites
• American Journeys: Eyewitness Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement
• Great Websites for Kids from the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association
• History. . . It's Happening from EBSCO Publishing
• History Now from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
• National Geographic's History Index
• Not Even Past from the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin
• Primary Source
• Public Broadcasting Service
• Think Quest from Oracle Education Foundation

Possible Missouri Topics from Previous Years

• 2011—Debate and Diplomacy in History:  Successes, Failures, Consequences
• 2010—Innovation in History: Impact and Change
• 2009—The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies
• 2008—Conflict and Compromise in History
• 2007—Triumph and Tragedy in History
• 2006—Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas, Events
• 2005—Communication in History: The Key to Understanding
• 2004—Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History
• 2003—Rights and Responsibilities in History
• 2002—Revolution, Reaction, Reform in History
• 2001—Frontiers in History:  People, Places, Ideas
• 2000—Turning Points in History:  People, Ideas, Events