Every year National History Day frames students’ research within a historical theme. The theme is very broad in order to encompass historical topics from any place (world, national, or state) and any time period (Ancient or recent - min. 20 years). This year’s theme is Turning Points in History. (nhd.org).
Turning Points in History
What is a turning point?
Well, a turning point in history is more than just an important event that happened a long time ago. It is more than a new idea or a particular action taken by an individual. A turning point is an idea, event, or action that directly, or sometimes indirectly, causes change. Sometimes a turning point has immediate repercussions, making its significance obvious to people at the time. Sometimes, however, the impact of an event or decision or person is clear only in retrospect. A turning point can be a personal decision in the life of one person or a political choice affecting millions. It can be an event or idea with global or local consequences, or it can be the life of a single person whose actions inspire or affect others. The effect of a turning point in history might be social, political, economic, or cultural. It might be a combination. History is often complicated. Regardless of the topic selected, students must not only present a description of it, but also draw conclusions about how their topic affected individuals, communities, nations, or the world. Simply put, what was it like before the turning point? What was the turning point? What was it like after the turning point? (nhd.org)