Align projects with NYS Social Studies Standards & CCLS
Veterans Oral History Project
The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
The Project collects first-hand accounts of U.S. Veterans from the following wars:
World War I (1914-1920)
World War II (1939-1946)
Korean War (1950-1955)
Vietnam War (1961-1975)
Persian Gulf War (1990-1995)
Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts (2001-present)
In addition, those U.S. citizen civilians who were actively involved in supporting war efforts (such as war industry workers, USO workers, flight instructors, medical volunteers, etc.) are also invited to share their valuable stories.
National History Day
National History Day (NHD) is a highly regarded academic program for elementary and secondary school students.
Each year, more than half a million students, encouraged by thousands of teachers nationwide participate in the NHD contest. Students choose historical topics related to a theme and conduct extensive primary and secondary research through libraries, archives, museums, oral history interviews and historic sites. After analyzing and interpreting their sources and drawing conclusions about their topics’ significance in history, students present their work in original papers, websites, exhibits, performances and documentaries. These products are entered into competitions in the spring at local, state and national levels where they are evaluated by professional historians and educators. The program culminates in the Kenneth E. Behring National Contest each June held at the University of Maryland at College Park.
In addition to discovering the exciting world of the past, NHD also helps students develop the following attributes that are critical for future success:
critical thinking and problem-solving skills
research and reading skills
oral and written communication and presentation skills
self esteem and confidence
a sense of responsibility for and involvement in the democratic process
More than 5 million students have gone on to careers in business, law, medicine and countless other disciplines where they are putting into practice what they learned through NHD.