Student participation in Social Studies programs and competitions can enhance their learning experiences within the disciplines, as well as provide opportunities to improve research and writing abilities, and increase academic experiences on post-secondary school applications.
The Concord Review publishes academic research papers by secondary students. Submit history papers to The National Writing Board to be assessed by an independent academic expository writing standard endorsed by several Ivy League and other selective colleges and universities.
Teams of students representing high schools are invited to compete in a series of challenging tests of their economic understanding and reasoning abilities. Participants compete in both individual and team categories. To register, contact your closest Center for Economic Education (http://www.mcee.umn.edu/about/statenetwork.html).
Kids Voting Minnesota, is dedicated to educating Minnesota youth about the rights and responsibilities and mechanics of participating in American democracy. Students in grades K-12 may accompany their parents/guardians to the polling site on Election Day and vote for the same candidates and issues as adults.
The Global Food Challenge, sponsored by Cargill, is an in-class curriculum that follows four units – Basic Economics of Food Markets, Economics of World Food Trade, Economics of Food Security, and Economics of Food Safety – that may culminate in a student project to be entered into a yearly competition.
Students from high schools in Minneapolis participate in the Student Congress on Economic Issues. Teams composed of students from at least two high schools debate three topics. Each topic is debated by three teams. Teams are judged based on their arguments, research and presentation.
The First Freedom Student Competition is a first-semester national essay contest, offering high-school students an opportunity to compete for a $3,000, $1,500 and $750 award, as they examine religious freedom, its history, current importance, and relevance in their lives. The competition is open to students in the United States and U.S. territories, and to American schools and American home-schooled students worldwide. We invite 9th - 12th grade students at all levels of academic placement to participate.
Student registration is due November 22, 2010. Postmark deadline for mailing entries is November 27, 2010. Winners will be announced April 13, 2011.
The Churchill Centre in the United States seeks to reward and to publish exemplary high-school history research papers with a focus on Winston Churchill or his works. Authors should seek to examine an aspect of Churchill's life or works in the context of his times. Such an approach might necessarily include analysis of, for example: his colleagues, both friends and adversaries; important political questions and events, both domestic and international; diplomatic issues; economics; and his speeches and writing.
Three prizes will be awarded in the amounts of $1000, $500 and $250 and winners will be announced annually on Churchill's birthday, November 30th. 2012 research papers must be submitted by September 15, 2012, which will allow ample time for revisions to promising papers submitted to teachers near the conclusion of the previous academic year (May/June 2012). (Papers are eligible for submission until September 15 following the author's graduation from secondary school.) Schools may submit no more than five papers each year.
For information and guidelines, visit the Churchill Centre's website.
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