中文
HOME
HOME / LATEST NEWS / Content

History Day Semester Project Showcase: Museum Exhibit & Newscast Award Ceremony

June 14, 2024

Towards the end of the school year, the showcase of the results of the history projects, which had been in the making for most of the semester, finally kicked off on the afternoon of June 12th in the Zhen Tao Building. On the basis of summarizing the experience of the previous years, the arrangement of the history semester projects in this school year retained the traditional features in terms of content and form, but also attempted to push the boundaries, aiming to cultivate students' continuous interest in history and the spirit of inquiry. The History Day was divided into two main parts: the Museum Exhibition of the 9th graders, and the Newscast Award Ceremony for the 10th graders.

The museum exhibition, mainly for 9th grade students, was in full swing on the first floor of the Zhen Tao Building. The first session (14:10-14:35) consisted of the 9th grade students in small groups presenting their projects to the 10th grade “visitors”. They focused on the theme of Ancient Civilizations of the World, which included the history of Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Rome, Ancient China and Korea, the Mayan civilization, the Byzantine Empire, the European Middle Ages, and the Renaissance. They produced academic magazines, a wide variety of handmade artifacts with labels, elaborate maps, posters, and easy-to-understand exhibit guides to the “visitors”. “Visitors” were required to study at least three booths and complete reflection questions by observing exhibits and communicating with the presenters. Next, 9th graders took turns presenting their work to each other and completing their reflection questionnaires in the next two sessions (14:35-15:05; 15:10-15:40) in odd and even groups.

The 10th graders then went to the B1 Lecture Hall for the Newscast Award Ceremony in the second session (14:40-15:45). This semester, students continued to build on the academic magazine they completed in the first semester by creating a second stage newscast video on the theme of “Turning Points in History”. Compared with the tasks of historical documentaries and historical films that were attempted several years ago, newscast videos are more challenging. The magazines paved the way for an academic foundation, and the students' application skills were tested during this semester. They had to select historical events and figures, act as anchors to carefully connect the logical threads of historical events, select breaking news that were compelling enough, and edit international news, interviews, and field reports to make viewers appreciate the significance of a “turning point in history”.

This year, students chose topics such as Darwinism, The Industrial Revolution, The First Opium War, The Russian Revolution, Attack on Pearl Harbor, The Manhattan Project, The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba, etc. A total of 12 groups of candidate works were all recognized by students and teachers. Finally, four groups of students were voted to win the awards of “Best Overall Newscast”, “Best Editing”, “Best Reporting” and “Best Props/Attire” respectively. History teachers then presented the awards to the winning and candidate groups in turn. The video highlights were presented at the Award Ceremony, which drew a warm response from the students.

The History semester project assignment for grades 9 and 10 has been a special focus for teachers and students. The completion of the project task required the spirit of solid inquiry, the ability to work independently, the continuous cooperation among group members, and the infinite collision of interdisciplinary knowledge and skills. The process all the way from preparation to presentation is actually a journey of dialoguing with time and space, a search for companionship, and an opportunity for self-challenge. Through this activity, students not only reviewed what they have learned, but also completed the process of learning from others. We hope that this opportunity will also help students to make a complete summary of this whole academic year's history study.

(Written by: Shen Zhou Pictures by: Shen Zhou, Daiwei Chixu, Hao Sun)