Winning SocialStudies Projects

What Makes a Great Social Studies Project?

Choose a subject that really interests you. Putting what you want to know about your subject in the form of a question can help you focus on what you want to know about your subject. What is some-thing significant that you would enjoy learning about?

The world is full of Interesting Things to Learn About

How did African Americans live in the time of Slavery?

What was it like to travel on the Oregon Trail?

Do you ever wonder how flight is possible?

What impact did the ideas of Gandhi have on Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement?

What was the significance of the Tuskegee Air Men in World War II?

This is where your media center, your local library and a home computer can help.

How Will You Learn About Your Subject in a Way That Will

Answer Your Question?

Your school lab and media center have Internet ready computers that you can use.

Teacher librarians and librarians at public libraries are trained to help you search the Internet forinformation.

What If You Don’t Yet Have a Computer with Internet

Access?

What Made These Projects from the 2000 Social Studies Fair

Winners?

CreativitySubject MatterNeatnessColor ChoicesReadability

What is the Appalachian Trail?

Interesting and colorful background with tree

The title is done on a banner instead of cut out letters

Type boxes all have a dark border

Color photographs

What is the Appalachian Trail?Same project at the bottom. Notice the clever foot prints and the map of the

trail with actual photos from the trail.

How Did Bloody Sunday Impact the Civil Rights Movement?

The headline is built on top of the board and the letters have a white outline.

People at the bottom and the blue board they stand on add color.

The black background makes a powerful statement.

Capital Punishment: Is It Justice?Very effective red blood at the top and handcuffs on each side set a grave tone.

Protesters at the bottom, the drawing of the electric chair, syringe for lethal injections and pictures of people that have been executed make a powerful statement.

What Are The Positive Effects of Eating Carrots?Really beautiful complementary color combination of blue and orange. Nice colorful border, boxes are outlined and live vegetables growing in decorative cans make this

unusual subject fun to look at.

What is the History of the Great Wall of China?A wonderful 3 dimensional effect. It’s hard to see where the drawing of the great wall

on the board stops and the part built onto the front of the board begins.

What Can We Do to Prevent Teen Car Accidents? Dramatic top piece with bright shiny letters. Picture of the governor with his view

point, graphs and a 3D driving test at the bottom

What Was the Three-Fifths Compromise?

Nice top piece adds space.

Lots of pictures of the time period and a document on a scroll

3 dimensional black figures with featureless white cotton faces at the bottom make one curious about the question.

What is the Coalition of Black Women and how does it Impact The Black Women’s Vote?

Nice use of color against a black board. Red file folders and yellow paper make it interesting to look at.

Lots of cut out figures and activity at the bottom, with confetti on top of two standing displays.

Why is George Washington Considered the Father of Our Country?

The design has a patriotic theme with the red white and blue colors and the flags as a border.

Color picture of George Washington and clever use of a dollar bill with his picture on it. Again, boxes with information are on a red background to make them stand out.

At the bottom is a little figure cutting down a cherry tree, a popular story about the first president of the United States of America.

How did the Death and Rebirth of John Barleycorn Affect Society?A very creative project. A large whiskey bottle at the top asks the question. At the bottom a tombstone and casket with the word whiskey on it. Graph on the board gives a time-line and below we can peek into a speakeasy.

How and Why Did the Ancient Egyptians Make Mummies?

The drawing at the top of this board and the colors used make this an exciting presentation.

More color pictures, the larger one showing the actual embalming process add interest.

The Negro LeaguesGreat photographs and an actual 3 dimensional stadium in front make a

strong presentation. Neatness really shows in how straight all the photos are.

How has the Culture of New Orleans Developed?Beautiful center panel featuring a Mardi Gras mask and confetti. There are

more Mardi Gras items at the bottom. Side panels are very neat, black borders make white boxes stand out.

Why Did the Egyptians Build the Pyramids?Nice color combination of blue and yellow with a little red in the border.

A very impressive 3 dimensional pyramid.

What is the Culture of Vietnam? Wonderful choice of type face for the headline, it has an Asian theme. Good color pictures and maps and good contrast. 3 dimensional Vietnamese village at bottom.