Home

Hayden — Given a little freedom, it's often amazing what students can come up with.

Several months ago, history teacher Vicki Trousdale asked students at Hayden Middle School to come up with a research project for this year's National History Day competition. The only requirement was that the subject fit this year's theme: "Taking a Stand in History: People, Ideas and Events."

Which historical figures took a stand?

The answers generated by Hayden sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students were on display Thursday in the school's gymnasium.

Students' responses included: Civil War-era abolitionist Frederick Douglass; seventeenth-century victims of the Salem Witch Trials; former presidents Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt; and Jackie Robinson, who shattered baseball's race barrier.

The Louisiana roots of sixth-grader Mallory MacGowan, Trousdale said, inspired Mallory and classmates Kelsey DuBowes and Jennifer Bugg to choose Confederate general Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, who the students said took a stand for states' rights.

Sixth-graders Nick Will--iams, Gunnar Pickering and Ivan Nielsen chose the "Buffalo Soldiers," the first all-black regiments in the U.S. Army. Mark Matthews, the oldest living Buffalo Soldier, died in September at the age of 111.

Nick's research taught him a valuable lesson.

"You can't judge people by their outside," the sixth-grader said. "All those soldiers were great fighters."

Middle school building administrator Gina Zabel and math teacher Jennifer Spurlock helped judge the entries Thursday. Each group of students answered questions about their project, which included a research essay and a visual display on a three-sided board.

Trousdale said the students also created PowerPoint presentations or short plays about their subject.

"It's a big, big research project," Trousdale said.

Students across the country compete in National History Day. Trousdale said winners from Hayden Middle School will be eligible to compete in regional competitions next month in Frisco or Grand Junction.

"Last year we had some kids go all the way to states," she said.

Zabel said asking students to choose their own subjects encouraged them to invest in their learning.

"Every single student we talked to is very interested in their project," Zabel said. "The whole research process has been great for them."

--o reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com