History comes alive for K-M students

History came alive last Friday for ninth and 10th grade students at Kasson-Mantorville High School as they participated in the annual “History Day” events.
Described as similar to a science fair, the freshmen and sophomore students have spent the first semester researching a historical topic of their own choice and the first part of the second semester in preparing a presentation for a group of judges.
Their work was on display in the high school gym Friday as  judges made their way through the rows of projects to talk with the students about their research, how they chose their topics and what they have learned.
National History Day is a nationwide-event that began in 1974 and is an event that gives students in grades six through 12 a chance to conduct in-depth research on a topic using primary and secondary sources, analyze their information and demonstrate what they have learned through a visual display, documentary, website or performance.
Students can choose any historical topic as long as it relates to the annual theme, said K-M Social Studies Teacher Nicholas Matejcek.