45 Morton East students recently advanced to the Chicagoland Regional History Fair Competition at University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC).
Congratulations to the following juniors:
At Morton East High School, the History Fair is an annual event for junior students. I had the chance to interview one of the participants along with their group from the History Fair. Their topic of choice was Frank Collin, known as “The Jewish Nazi,” an American political activist associated with the American Nazi Party.
This is history teacher Ms. Jennie Crownson’s 19th year participating in history fair. Back when she started, it was called Chicago Metro History Fair and entries had to focus on Chicago history only. Now, it’s been expanded to international topics.
“History Fair impacts students by giving them a research project that they might see later when they go on to college or career. The skills they will need to be successful, planning, finding sources and analyzing the quality of the sources. Then taking their research and using it to defend their argument by using both primary and secondary sources and presented their project through different mediums, whether through writing, or a presentation. It helps them develop the ability to sustain and persist in a multi step process,” said Ms. Crownson.
Students become actual historians — searching through original documents — to retrace the lives, challenges, pursuits and influnce of their topics.
“They learn how to find quality primary sources and use them as evidence for their historical arguments. I also want them to learn how historians study and present history,” said Ms. Crownson.
Here is what one of the students from the History Fair group had to say:
“Well, at first, we picked Adolf Hitler, but we realized he was way too well-known. So, we asked Mr. Frankfother if he could help us out, and he did. He gave us the name Frank Collin, a Neo-Nazi. We liked it, and we started working on it from there,” said junior student Azucena Garfias from Mr. Frankfother’s class.
