Students bring history alive at Sigourney Elementary School

Sigourney- Sixth grade students at Sigourney Elementary School got to experience national history day in a different way: bringing alive a variety of historical events for a history fair. On February 28, Sigourney Elementary Students made presentations to their peers, and a panel of judges, all on a variety of topics that students felt were importance in history. According to Elementary Teacher Amy Jones, the project is the culmination of a unit centered around National History Day.

“Our sixth graders have experienced national history day. They are now presenting the result of choosing a topic that was important in history, that goes along with our theme of ‘Triumph and Tragedy in History’. They had to choose the topic and do research and after they did research they had to choose from five different types of projects and come up with a project that would then show their learning, what they’ve learned from their research,” Jones said.

Jones also said that the morning of the history fair, students would present to their fellow peers, while in the afternoon, they would present to a panel of judges, largely composed of teachers. She noted that the event is not something unique to Sigourney Schools. In fact, Sigourney Elementary School can send several winners to a district competition in Ottumwa, according to Arnold. If a student does well at districts, they could go on to state, and even nationals.

“It just kind of gives them a little extra incentive if you’re a student that really loves what you’re doing here, there are lots of different steps that you can advance to,” Jones said. “This is something that is done all across our country,” she also said.

Students are given the option of choosing between five different project types, ranging from an exhibit board, to a performance, or even to a documentary. However, Jones said there is one clear preference each year.

For more on this story and others, catch the March 6 edition of the News-Review.