THIS+DAY+IN+HISTORY

Possible Points 10 Student rationale well-thought out and well-written 10 Presentation was polished, with practice evident 10 Presentation was informative, hitting all major points 10 Student kept class engaged and interested in presentation 10 Student demonstrated creativity in preparing the lesson 10 Student’s visual(s) aided in teaching the lesson 10 Student handled teacher (and/or student) questions well 10 Presentation was within time parameter 80 Total Possible This Day in U.S. History Starting Thursday August 21, many of the first quarter classes will begin with a 7-10 minute presentation entitled “This Day in United States History.” On these days, individual students will teach a 3-part mini-lesson. The 3 parts are: 1) The most newsworthy event, in your judgment, that occurred on this day (the presentation day) in United States history, along with an explanation of why that event was so important. Students may be asked to defend their rationale for choosing a particular event as most important. For example, if you presented on June 6 and chose some thing other than D-Day, you might be asked to explain why you deemed your choice more newsworthy. 2) A significant birth or death that occurred on this day, along with a description of that person’s life and accomplishments. 3) A significant cultural event (sports, the arts, entertainment) that occurred on that day, along with a description of why you picked this particular event.

Finding this information will be relatively easy. Many websites, including The History Channel, should make your research easy. Presenting the material in an engaging and informative manner--and doing so within the 7to 10-minute time frame--will be the challenge. Students are encouraged to be creative. At a minimum, presentations must include some sort of visual component. Students should be ready to present when the bell rings to begin class. This means that any presentations or video clips should be loaded PRIOR to the start of class and that the student’s computer, if he or she chooses to use it in the presentation, should be connected to the teacher’s projector in between classes. Prior to class, each presenter should have PRINTED his or her rationale for choosing the most newsworthy event.