1. How has your NHD project this year helped you grow as a student?
2. In one to two sentences, what would you say about the NHD project to future students?
67 comments:
Etappy6
said...
I don't have a partner...thanks Megan love ya! But I do feel like not having someone to help out helped with time manageing skills. Future students: CHOOSE A WEBSITE AND A GOOD PARTNER! Websites are more creative and I think there is a little more freedom in how it is designed. Also partners are great because you get twice as much work doen.
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student to practice time management. Time management was a key part in completing every part needed for National History Day. Lack of time management in NHD, as well as daily projects, could result in trouble and procrastination. For future students, I would say that yes, NHD is a hard project with many time constraints, but in the end it is worth it. You become increasingly knowledgeable throughout the project about your topic as well as others, and through the little arguments you may have with your partner (which I suggest you choose one!), you end up growing together. It really is a great project!
Etappy - I agree! I didn't even see your comment, and me and Paige have talked about this before. Time management is a great skill to have. Especially for NHD!
1. Working with a partner gave me a chance to practice what it was like having disagreements and having to make compromises. In working with a partner I have become better at fixing problems in a way that can make everyone happy and it really taught me how to work things out when there are two people who have to make the decisions.
2. Future students: there is almost no point in telling you this, because when you finish iMovie you're going to say this to yourself but you're not going to do it anyway: don't waste your in class time. Don't spend it doing stupid stuff for two hours telling yourself that you're working, because if you work efficiently, you will finish the project early, you won't have a lot of homework, you won't be in a time crunch, you'll have plenty of time at the end to check over small mistake, and why waste your time goofing around? It's really kind of boring. And you'll regret it in the long run!
etappy6- that was the other big thing about NHD for me too. Time management and cooperative skills were the two big things I learned in doing NHD. And I agree with you on websites, I think they did give you more freedom and a bigger opportunity to make it stick out from the other websites, but all documentaries are the same format. Websites allow you to be unique!
NHD has helped me grow as a student because it has taught me about cooperation and hard work, and how when you accomplish something big that feeling of accomplishment is worth all of the hard work and effort and frustration that came with the project. To all the future REACH students i say that you need to pick a partner whom your close to and shares similar views and to choose a topic that your really interested in other wise this will be a very long and very hard year for you.
NHD this year has helped me grow as a student in many ways. In one particular way was time management. If you "goof" of in class and do not complete your work, it then requires you to come in before and after school and sometimes on Saturdays. (I eventually learned this :) To future students: Think about your strong points. Are you more creative and concise with your writing? Or are you able to expand your writing to ten minutes and find tons of pictures on your specific topic? Either way both documentaries and websites are great projects to complete.
Emily, I am sorry that your partner left, but I still think you did amazing on your own, although I do not know if I agree with you on choosing a website for NHD.
My project has helped me grow because i learned the how to work well with someone else, and not to listen to the negative comments others may give you. I don't mean like constructive comments but I mean the ones that are like you're project is a failure or you can't possibly do well. The importance of trying to prove people wrong. I would say that if you chose a partner chose someone that you know and are friends with but not best friends. This helps because there is very little past conflicts between you and your partner as well as you probably don't see in the same way making your project have a broader perspective. Plus, it can create sometimes best friends.
AHines6- I know! Ii agree with you, NHD was a though project, but after judging the feeling is so great knowing you did something SO cool. How many 8th graders can say they made a movie of website and presented Otto go to a state competition?! That's what's thought, only the people answering this blog!
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student by teaching me about bibliography, research, and the need to do things on time. I am more confident with research and bibliography, and time management was also a big part in this project. To future students, working with a partner and working alone both have their advantages and disadvantages, just like websites and documentaries do. NHD is a really good opportunity to learn many things. It may be a little difficult at times, but it's worth it.
My NHD project helped grow as a student, for it taught me how to cut. Before you would just write and write and write, add this and that, but in doing my NHD project I learned that less is sometimes better. A clear, concise paragraph is better when trying to explain something to a person than two paragraphs of good, but rambling information. Make sure you pick a topic you love and a partner who you can truly rely on to get the same grade or better than you would. It's okay to pick a topic you do not know anything about as long as you know you are interested in it, but before you make it your definite topic you need to research it slightly to make sure you really want to learn EVERYTHING about it.
Emily- A partner is definitely helpful, but only if they are dependable and will not 'drag you down'. Also, the competition is not quite as stiff without partners.
1.) My NHD project helped me hone my skills in research. I learned how to annotate and cite correctly. I did so many picture citations, I even know the order by heart. It also made my historian skills of interpretation grow.
2.) The NHD project is such a wonderful opportunity to work on your research skills and it's fun making interpretations on the facts you gain from your research, so do not drop out in 8th grade just because you don't want to challenge yourself. You would also feel proud that you know your topic so thoroughly and have made a presentation that will teach others about something you have poured your time researching
Emily- Documentary can be creative, too, it just depends on how much time and effort you put into it. (In NHD, effort: you put a lot into. Time: you don't always seem to have enough). And for me also, working alone put me on a harder training course and helped me out more in becoming a better researcher.
When it comes to growing as a student, NHD helps you practice time mangement, researching, and other skills that will be useful for high-school. However, personally, NHD helped me learn to take a large, often unknown topic and break it down into pieces. Taking on such a large topic was quite a challenge from the beginning when we chose our topic, and unlike some of the other topics, ours was one we had to take an entire different view on.
As for future students, don't argue over who is going to do what. I noticed how practically all year students fought over who was doing what, but if they would have cooperated from the beginning, it would save them the time they needed.
Also, be sure you choose the type of project that's right for you. People who did websites may love websites better, but for some, websites are just not the right option.
Charles- That was actually a nice point to make. Some people may doubt you, your work habits, your project all together, but in the end, you project may do better than you expected! You have to believe that yes- you can do this!
NHD has helped me learn how to be civil with my partner even after our heated debates. To future students: Get a partner that you love to be around and are bestfriends with, like mine Karoline. This will help you comunicate and be able to point out an error without being scared they will get mad. No matter how tempting, do not choose someone who will do the whole project! You will learn nothing, and you will get frustrated when your ideas are not incorperated into the project. Do not procrastinate with the annotated bibliography, do it as you get new sources or you WILL get overwhelmed.
Emily~ I TOTALY agree with your partner logic. It is so true! having a partner will help you do work faster, and websites are more creative, not more work, not less work, just different, more creative work
This project has helped me grow as a student because I learned time management during class time. The only thing I really did at home was the script and other writing (besides photo citations and annotations. For future students who are doing NHD, go to the Saturday sessions. I know that going to school on the weekend can sound boring and lame. But actually in that time period, I did a lot of my documentary and eventually was the second person/group to be done with a dcoumentary and I worked by myself. For the people that are saying partners are the best, I finished my project and ended up with high quality work and did not feel a lot of stress.
Joy~ I agree with you that it may be difficult at the time but at seeing he end result, it was definitely worth it!
My NHD project helped me grow as a student because it helped me realize that if you want a great project you have to be committed to giving your best. There were days when I felt like there was nothing to do or just did't feel like working anymore on it. This wasn't the right approach and definetly not helpful to our website. Future students, make sure that you are committed to making your project the best it can be. Also if your thinking to yourself that NHD will be too stressful, don't stress about it. MAking a great project is a long process, but taking it little by little is the best approach.
Karoline~ Working with a partner was nothing but disagreements. However I agree with you, it was helpful learning how working with a partner on a project so big was.
1. Working with another person throughout the months of work has helped me realize a little better understanding other people's and my time and how valuable it is. Working with a very busy person has given me the chance to challenge myself in time management and balance of work.
2. To the future students, NHD is extremely difficult through most of the project (especially the nearing the end), but if you choose to work with a partner, you grow in not only understanding your partner's perspective, but your relationship in general strengthens in a way that "just talking" to them can not do. I do not regret joining the REACH program and definately do not regret choosing SungMin as my partner.
1. NHD has helped me grow not only as a student, but as a person in some ways as well. I have learned how to manage my time SO much better, and I have also seen the consequences of procrastination. I have also learned how to use different computer programs and fix small problems on the computer without having to ask someone else. I must say that although NHD was stressful and time consuming, I have learned so many more life skills with it.
2. Future Students: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!!!! You will regret it, and I can promise that. Also, you should be picky when choosing a partner (if you are going to have a partner) because I was with someone who was more technologically advanced, so she worked on most of the iMovie while I did the annotated bibliography and found more pictures. We had a very good balance, so we were never really stressed out to the point where we went crazy (but that doesn't mean we weren't stressed at one point or another). NHD is a great learning experience and please keep in mind that if you are not willing to commit and put your whole heart into it, then I am sure someone on the REACH waiting list would like to take that opportunity. Plus, after the project is done, you will be so pleased with the wonderful movie or website, and it gives something to truly be proud of.
SRosenberger- I completely agree with what you said about topic selection. It is SO important that you choose a topic you are interested in because you work with it all year long.
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student because it has really taught me how to manage time which will definitely help me in the future. To the future 8th grade REACH students: make sure you pick a partner who you will be able to get along well with because if you don't, you will end up fighting about the little details of the project which will complicate things for you and your partner.
Wrenn- I completely agree with you about the annotated bibliography, mainly because that is what happened to me. It was extremely overwhelming and I totally regret it.
This project has helped me grow as a student by forcing me not to procrastinate, therefore helping me abolish that unsatisfactory habit. I would tell future students that NHD projects are a whirlwind of terror, anxiety, and depression. Even though this unpleasent project causes all of these symptons, when you are finished it is a great relief and you will be intensly proud of your work and how far you have come.
Alyssa: I definitely agree that NHD is worth it, and that the future students should never give up on it. It's almost like we were working so hard we never even realized what we were accomplishing!
NHD has helpded me grow so much as a student. This has helped me by teaching how to manage things like my time for NHD, working with a partner like being able to split up work. I broke my bad bad bad habit of procrastinating. My partner Jared and I learned to not give up mo matter what! Our project got all deleted but we pulled through and came out ok. NHD has also helped me to meet deadlines and to put forth our best work and our all. Jared and I can now go into overachiever mode and accomplish anything with that. For all of the future NHD students, I tell you that you have to pick a partner that you can work really well with. You have to give NHD your all and to never give up!!!
The NHD project has helped me grow as a student in many way. Some examples is perseverance. Tucker and I went through a lot of difficulties with the computers and we had the fear of not being able to finish, however we made it to finals and Tucker and I are still friends thankfully. Tips for future REACH students, do NOT procrastinate! I said this to myself and didn't follow through, I know that work isn't fun, but when you have it all piled up and due the next day, just don't procrastinate.
Jessica, I agree, you can't only just think about yourself in a partnership especially if they are counting on you.
NHD this year has helped me grow as a student because I learned a lot of life skills and also a lot about the environment that I could possibly help me in the future. One major thing that I learned was time management. I learned this by having to balance the work of NHD with all of my other homework and after school activities. In the future this will help me when I have a bunch of homework to do along with a huge project. For all future students I would say that NHd is an incredible opportunity for you as a student and it will help me in high school and college. This project also gives you many skills that a normal reading and language arts class will not give you. Most importantly it was a ton of fun and even thought sometimes stressful it was enjoyable.
NHD has helped me grow as a student by eliminating my laziness and helping me make deadlines. Also working with a partner because working with other people or Co-Workers is an important life skill. NHD has also taught me to not give up when times are hard and to always trust your partner because they will do amazing things when the time is right. To the future students i reccommend to you that you pick a partner that you arvery good friends with because it will help you out through the NHD project; and if you are procrastinators go overachiver mode and get a lot of work done, it helped Josh and I thoroughout the Project.
The NHD project has helped me grow as a student because it has taught me various skills that are vital in performing a project this big, such as organization, time-management, and not procrastinating. Doing this project has definitely helped me improve in the skills stated above. For future students, make sure you choose a project that is interesting to you. You will be working on it for a really long time, so if you choose a good project, it could be sort of fun.
The NHD project this year helped me grow as a student in many ways. For one, the experience of working with someone else on such a massive project has been very beneficial. Life is often about partnership and learning to work well with others is important. Also, NHD has taught me researching skills and how to decide what information is important to include in a project. Time management and organizational skills were also things I learned.
For future REACH students: Never give up on NHD and make sure you stay on top of things. Having a partner is a good idea, but make sure it's someone that you can work well with and that you build each other up.
I think NHD has helped me with learning different time management skills and prioritizing the different tasks. Also, learning partnership and being able to trust and rely on your partner to come through. Some advice for future NHD students would be, be with a partner. I know a lot of people say working with a partner is bad because you'll end up with all the work, but honestly if you spilt up the work its not that bad. Plus, I was so glad I was with a partner because it isn't as lonely and sometimes can give you motivation!
NHD has helped me grow as a student by teaching me important skills such as time management, independence, organization, and researching abilities. Throughout doing my NHD project, these skills came in handy to learn. For future REACH students, I would suggest to create a documentary because in 7th grade you have the advantage to become familiar with iMovie and iPhoto. So, by 8th grade you have the knowledge of how to work with iMovie and iPhoto. NHD was a great experiance, and I am glad I had the ability to be able to create an NHD project.
This year creating and NHD project ha helped me to grow as a student in many ways. Most importantly I learned the consequences of procrastination. I also learned the value of having a good partner, because my partner always covered for me when i had computer issues. If I were to tell the kids from next year anything it would be that no matter how much you don't want to work do not procrastinate.
Rachel- i also learned how to manage my time well through the NHD project
NHD has had so much impact on my life this year, its amazing. It has helped me grow as a student by re-enforcing time management and helped improved my research skills. Our 7th grade language arts teacher last year hardly had us research or write anything. So my training from 6th grade was mostly gone. With NHD its so important to have good research skills otherwise your project will be a disaster. Then my partner and I also learned that its important to manage your time. This has helped me grow and is partly advice to future students; manage your time wisely. Make sure everything that you have to do, but is due at a later time is done right away. So say if an paragraph of your essay is assigned to be done by Friday on Monday? Do it the day you get it. Otherwise the work will just pile up. And also for future students, make sure you know your topic inside and out. Expect odd questions in judging. Be prepared for anything.
My NHD project has improved many of the skills I need to be successful in life. This project has helped me to be patient when working with someone, to be responsible, to never give up and keep trying, to concentration for long periods of time, coup under pressure, and work hard to complete a long project. Out of all things I have done in middle school I truly believe NHD has helped me the most regarding learning how to work well with a partner to complete a project. As a student now compared to at the beginning of the year, it is as if I am a complete different person. I have gone from an unorganized, irresponsible, resistant student to an organized, responsible, more willing to learn student who wants to complete more projects like NHD. I am sincerely an overall better student now than I was at the beginning of the year, and that is all because of NHD. Everyone says they are glad NHD is over, but truthfully I will miss the project. I am truly glad I have had the opportunity to go to state because the future work will help me grow even more as a student. With the experience of NHD I now believe I will be able to do anything in the future especially in high school as I attend IB at Eastside, and through hard times not to worry and persevere through. NHD has hands down been my favorite project in middle school because of how it has helped me become a more confident student, and I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege of participating in the competition.
Dear Future 8th grade reach students, Do not procrastinate on this project, it is a hard and long project and you never want to get behind. Also if you need help ask Ms. Haro and Ms. Thomas a lot of questions because it is fun to see their reaction when u constantly ask questions and you do not want to mess something up just because you do not want to ask. Also find a quiet place to work everyday, like the library, because you will get A LOT more work done when away from the distractions caused by friends!
Rachel- That is a great point about time management. I also did not do much work at home because of all my hard work in class. Another good point about attending Saturday sessions, I got a lot of work done at those.
Tucker, I completely agree. It is good to have a partner that has skills that you don't have and vice versa. And learning first hand, you are definately right about not procrastinating.
This NHD project has helped me grow as a student by teaching me the skills of time management and hard work without a partner to help you. I would tell other students that the NHD project was a good experience that taught me a lot than I would have in a classroom. This project was a hands on way to learn what you want to learn in a certain time period while learning research skills.
I think my NHD project has helped me grow because it was a big accomplishment and this project really gave me confidence. It motivated me to take on big projects in the future. I feel that NHD has made me a more responsible student. We had to keep up with our bibliography and keep it updated. We had to make sure we had enough research and knowledge about our topic. Our script had to be cut down to a certain length, we had to record, and find pictures to match with our script. When we came to class we had to be prepared to work hard so we would have a good project.
Future Students: NHD is a tough process. I suggest a partner so you have two people working together on the project, but choose wisely. I think if you work hard and put a lot of time into your project you will accomplish NHD.
NHD is not easy I will admit that, but I loved it. The work I put into it was really hard and it came out so fabulous. I learned about myself and my partner during NHD. I learned our work ethic and my strengths and weaknesses. To REACH Students be careful of who you choose as your partner! Get a good partner with a schedule like yours so that you know what they can do that night and what they have time for. Also choose what type of presentation you like! Both are very rewarding, documentary made an actual movie and website made a website! Just website is more portable then documentary!
Ever since we have started NHD in the summer, I have done countless things that have helped me grow as a student. The most important thing to me that I learned was cooperation. You’re not always going to agree with your partner. No matter the argument you will still have to finish your project. Also, I have learned that time management is a vital part of your NHD project. To next year’s students, This project is not going to be easy. No matter what happens NEVER give up. Finish what you’ve started. Once you complete this project, you will have one of the best feelings of your life and it should be!
1). NHD has helped me grow as a student in many ways. It has helped me learn how to manage time for one. Time management has always been something I struggled with and this project really helped me to realize just how important it is. Also, in doing a website, it taught me how to write concisely. It helped me to improve my writing skills quite a bit. It also taught me that when you are working with a partner, you should be taking advantage of each of your strengths and splitting the work accordingly. If you do this, there shouldn't be any fighting. 2). If I could give a piece of advice to future NHD students it would be to choose a documentary or website based on your strengths, not which one you like best. Also, pick a partner that you get along with, but also someone that isn't necessarily your best friend and that you have some different opinions than. This will help you because then you have two opinions on everything and you can bounce ideas off of each other. NHD is a great experience and all the work will pay off!
Nii Soja~ That is a great point about the distractions, it makes things a lot easier!
Throughout the year concerning the NHD project, I have grown immensely through hard work, cooperation, and teamwork. Starting from over the summer, the project allowed my partner, Leah, and I to figure out a lot about ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses. This definitely helped me grow because of the amount of work that was put into creating our documentary. Not only have we gone through ups and downs but those moments caused great pain and suffering."Without suffering there would be no compassion" and this is exactly how I felt when going through this project and how to deal with it. To my future students, I would say that even though it might take you a while to figure these skills out always keep in mind that you will change a lot through the year of this project. Doing a documentary versus a website truly depends on your own personality and I really cannot tell you which one is better. I have figured out that a documentary takes a lot more patience and time but after it is done, I think those students who did do it feel like they accomplished much more than a website. On the other hand, websites have a lot of creativity if you are into that. Overall, I am quite pleased and happy on how this project turned out and do agree that I learned things from it that I would otherwise not. Thank you for the experience.
Leah ~ I agree with you and I thought personally us being a partnership was a very good idea. Though we had our ups and downs, I cannot thank you enough for helping on the project. I think the only way this worked was because our friendship is unbreakable and no matter what fight we get into, we cannot ever stay mad at each other for long. You were a big motivation to me and I cannot be prouder of what we accomplished.
NHD has helped me grow as a student by teaching me the importance of independence and time management. It has taught me that not everything comes easily and it takes hard work and dedication to complete something you are proud of and also a great project. To the future NHD students, I would say that you should choose a topic that you are interested in, because you will work on the project for most of the year. If you hate the topic of what you are researching, NHD will just be a huge pain and really not fun. Luckily, the topic Kate and I chose was something we both loved, so researching wasn’t completely boring and we were able to relate to our topic.
The NHD project this year helped me grow as a student simply because it was probably the most difficult single project I have ever done. It taught me managing skills, how to cooperate with my partner (who helped me so much), and gave me insight on how to write better and use Macs better. One thing I would tell future students who are going to do the NHD project are DO NOT WAIST TIME. This is because as soon as you slack off for even one minute, you get behind. Eventually when the project deadline comes, all that slacking will catch up. Another thing I would tell future students is pick your partner wisely. Picking a bad partner would just make the project even more difficult. Make sure you get along with them.
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student in many ways. First, it taught me the importance of time management. In this project, there are major assignments and more minor assignments, and the ability to manage the amount of time you spend on each section of the project is a necessity to being successful, as well as balancing time needed for homework for other classes. NHD helped me grow as a student because it taught me how to handle a large scale research project and it taught me research skills that will be essential in my life even throughout college. Finally, NHD helped me further develop my organizational skills and clearly demonstrated how procrastination is a terrible habit. For Future Students: NHD is an extremely intimidating and challenging project, but accepting this challenge will be beneficial in so many ways, going from life skills to research skills. I recommend you choose a partner who has similar strengths as you to balance the workload and to choose a topic interesting to you because you will be researching it and working with it for 8 months.
Monica- I definitely agree with you on the suggestion about thinking about your strong points. That was exactly how Dylan and I decided to do a documentary.
What NHD has helped me with as a student is definitely how to manage my time somewhat.i used to be a super procrastinator. NHD has forced me to learn to manage my time and how to execute every piece of my website with expectations set by the judges.
DEFINITELY you must always not procrastinate. Or else you will not fufill the expectations set by Ms. Thomas & Ms. Haro.
Hey Ms. Thomas, I had a drum-line competition all day yesterday so I could not post my blog. 1) NHD has helped me better understand the importance of accurate and thorough research and understanding. Obtaining reliable sources and interviews really makes the largest impact on work and presentation/information. 2) NHD can be fun, but it takes dedication, teamwork, patience, and perseverance. Remember to pay a lot of attention to your time management as well. Emily- I really agree with what you said about how the websites are more creative. They provide more options to make your website unique. I feel personally like the documentaries just were all too much alike considering the formats and media type. With the websites you have so much diversity. Alyssa- I agree, time management is one of the most important virtues of NHD.
NHD has helped me grow as a student because it really showed me how you can start from scratch and still make a great project. I didn’t know anything about my topic before NHD and now I almost know too much (almost). This project also taught me the importance of listening and working well with your partner. I have a great NHD partner who contributes ample amounts of information and opinions to the project and our documentary wouldn’t be half as good without her. To future students the key to having a great project is to have a great topic. Don’t go with what’s easiest choice something that is unique or controversial. Your topic will help you stand out to the judges.
67 comments:
I don't have a partner...thanks Megan love ya! But I do feel like not having someone to help out helped with time manageing skills. Future students: CHOOSE A WEBSITE AND A GOOD PARTNER! Websites are more creative and I think there is a little more freedom in how it is designed. Also partners are great because you get twice as much work doen.
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student to practice time management. Time management was a key part in completing every part needed for National History Day. Lack of time management in NHD, as well as daily projects, could result in trouble and procrastination.
For future students, I would say that yes, NHD is a hard project with many time constraints, but in the end it is worth it. You become increasingly knowledgeable throughout the project about your topic as well as others, and through the little arguments you may have with your partner (which I suggest you choose one!), you end up growing together. It really is a great project!
Etappy - I agree! I didn't even see your comment, and me and Paige have talked about this before. Time management is a great skill to have. Especially for NHD!
1. Working with a partner gave me a chance to practice what it was like having disagreements and having to make compromises. In working with a partner I have become better at fixing problems in a way that can make everyone happy and it really taught me how to work things out when there are two people who have to make the decisions.
2. Future students: there is almost no point in telling you this, because when you finish iMovie you're going to say this to yourself but you're not going to do it anyway: don't waste your in class time. Don't spend it doing stupid stuff for two hours telling yourself that you're working, because if you work efficiently, you will finish the project early, you won't have a lot of homework, you won't be in a time crunch, you'll have plenty of time at the end to check over small mistake, and why waste your time goofing around? It's really kind of boring. And you'll regret it in the long run!
etappy6- that was the other big thing about NHD for me too. Time management and cooperative skills were the two big things I learned in doing NHD. And I agree with you on websites, I think they did give you more freedom and a bigger opportunity to make it stick out from the other websites, but all documentaries are the same format. Websites allow you to be unique!
NHD has helped me grow as a student because it has taught me about cooperation and hard work, and how when you accomplish something big that feeling of accomplishment is worth all of the hard work and effort and frustration that came with the project. To all the future REACH students i say that you need to pick a partner whom your close to and shares similar views and to choose a topic that your really interested in other wise this will be a very long and very hard year for you.
NHD this year has helped me grow as a student in many ways. In one particular way was time management. If you "goof" of in class and do not complete your work, it then requires you to come in before and after school and sometimes on Saturdays. (I eventually learned this :) To future students: Think about your strong points. Are you more creative and concise with your writing? Or are you able to expand your writing to ten minutes and find tons of pictures on your specific topic? Either way both documentaries and websites are great projects to complete.
Emily,
I am sorry that your partner left, but I still think you did amazing on your own, although I do not know if I agree with you on choosing a website for NHD.
My project has helped me grow because i learned the how to work well with someone else, and not to listen to the negative comments others may give you. I don't mean like constructive comments but I mean the ones that are like you're project is a failure or you can't possibly do well. The importance of trying to prove people wrong. I would say that if you chose a partner chose someone that you know and are friends with but not best friends. This helps because there is very little past conflicts between you and your partner as well as you probably don't see in the same way making your project have a broader perspective. Plus, it can create sometimes best friends.
AHines6- I know! Ii agree with you, NHD was a though project, but after judging the feeling is so great knowing you did something SO cool. How many 8th graders can say they made a movie of website and presented Otto go to a state competition?! That's what's thought, only the people answering this blog!
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student by teaching me about bibliography, research, and the need to do things on time. I am more confident with research and bibliography, and time management was also a big part in this project. To future students, working with a partner and working alone both have their advantages and disadvantages, just like websites and documentaries do. NHD is a really good opportunity to learn many things. It may be a little difficult at times, but it's worth it.
AMoore6, I totally agree. Everyone loves that feeling of accomplishment, and knowing that you finally finished something big.
My NHD project helped grow as a student, for it taught me how to cut. Before you would just write and write and write, add this and that, but in doing my NHD project I learned that less is sometimes better. A clear, concise paragraph is better when trying to explain something to a person than two paragraphs of good, but rambling information.
Make sure you pick a topic you love and a partner who you can truly rely on to get the same grade or better than you would. It's okay to pick a topic you do not know anything about as long as you know you are interested in it, but before you make it your definite topic you need to research it slightly to make sure you really want to learn EVERYTHING about it.
Emily- A partner is definitely helpful, but only if they are dependable and will not 'drag you down'. Also, the competition is not quite as stiff without partners.
Joy- thats true this project did boost my confidence to be able to complete a project as big as this!
1.) My NHD project helped me hone my skills in research. I learned how to annotate and cite correctly. I did so many picture citations, I even know the order by heart. It also made my historian skills of interpretation grow.
2.) The NHD project is such a wonderful opportunity to work on your research skills and it's fun making interpretations on the facts you gain from your research, so do not drop out in 8th grade just because you don't want to challenge yourself. You would also feel proud that you know your topic so thoroughly and have made a presentation that will teach others about something you have poured your time researching
Emily- Documentary can be creative, too, it just depends on how much time and effort you put into it. (In NHD, effort: you put a lot into. Time: you don't always seem to have enough).
And for me also, working alone put me on a harder training course and helped me out more in becoming a better researcher.
When it comes to growing as a student, NHD helps you practice time mangement, researching, and other skills that will be useful for high-school. However, personally, NHD helped me learn to take a large, often unknown topic and break it down into pieces. Taking on such a large topic was quite a challenge from the beginning when we chose our topic, and unlike some of the other topics, ours was one we had to take an entire different view on.
As for future students, don't argue over who is going to do what. I noticed how practically all year students fought over who was doing what, but if they would have cooperated from the beginning, it would save them the time they needed.
Also, be sure you choose the type of project that's right for you. People who did websites may love websites better, but for some, websites are just not the right option.
Charles- That was actually a nice point to make. Some people may doubt you, your work habits, your project all together, but in the end, you project may do better than you expected! You have to believe that yes- you can do this!
NHD has helped me learn how to be civil with my partner even after our heated debates. To future students: Get a partner that you love to be around and are bestfriends with, like mine Karoline. This will help you comunicate and be able to point out an error without being scared they will get mad. No matter how tempting, do not choose someone who will do the whole project! You will learn nothing, and you will get frustrated when your ideas are not incorperated into the project. Do not procrastinate with the annotated bibliography, do it as you get new sources or you WILL get overwhelmed.
Emily~ I TOTALY agree with your partner logic. It is so true! having a partner will help you do work faster, and websites are more creative, not more work, not less work, just different, more creative work
This project has helped me grow as a student because I learned time management during class time. The only thing I really did at home was the script and other writing (besides photo citations and annotations. For future students who are doing NHD, go to the Saturday sessions. I know that going to school on the weekend can sound boring and lame. But actually in that time period, I did a lot of my documentary and eventually was the second person/group to be done with a dcoumentary and I worked by myself. For the people that are saying partners are the best, I finished my project and ended up with high quality work and did not feel a lot of stress.
Joy~ I agree with you that it may be difficult at the time but at seeing he end result, it was definitely worth it!
My NHD project helped me grow as a student because it helped me realize that if you want a great project you have to be committed to giving your best. There were days when I felt like there was nothing to do or just did't feel like working anymore on it. This wasn't the right approach and definetly not helpful to our website.
Future students, make sure that you are committed to making your project the best it can be. Also if your thinking to yourself that NHD will be too stressful, don't stress about it. MAking a great project is a long process, but taking it little by little is the best approach.
Karoline~
Working with a partner was nothing but disagreements. However I agree with you, it was helpful learning how working with a partner on a project so big was.
1. Working with another person throughout the months of work has helped me realize a little better understanding other people's and my time and how valuable it is. Working with a very busy person has given me the chance to challenge myself in time management and balance of work.
2. To the future students, NHD is extremely difficult through most of the project (especially the nearing the end), but if you choose to work with a partner, you grow in not only understanding your partner's perspective, but your relationship in general strengthens in a way that "just talking" to them can not do. I do not regret joining the REACH program and definately do not regret choosing SungMin as my partner.
1. NHD has helped me grow not only as a student, but as a person in some ways as well. I have learned how to manage my time SO much better, and I have also seen the consequences of procrastination. I have also learned how to use different computer programs and fix small problems on the computer without having to ask someone else. I must say that although NHD was stressful and time consuming, I have learned so many more life skills with it.
2. Future Students: DO NOT PROCRASTINATE!!!!!! You will regret it, and I can promise that. Also, you should be picky when choosing a partner (if you are going to have a partner) because I was with someone who was more technologically advanced, so she worked on most of the iMovie while I did the annotated bibliography and found more pictures. We had a very good balance, so we were never really stressed out to the point where we went crazy (but that doesn't mean we weren't stressed at one point or another). NHD is a great learning experience and please keep in mind that if you are not willing to commit and put your whole heart into it, then I am sure someone on the REACH waiting list would like to take that opportunity. Plus, after the project is done, you will be so pleased with the wonderful movie or website, and it gives something to truly be proud of.
SRosenberger- I completely agree with what you said about topic selection. It is SO important that you choose a topic you are interested in because you work with it all year long.
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student because it has really taught me how to manage time which will definitely help me in the future. To the future 8th grade REACH students: make sure you pick a partner who you will be able to get along well with because if you don't, you will end up fighting about the little details of the project which will complicate things for you and your partner.
Wrenn-
I completely agree with you about the annotated bibliography, mainly because that is what happened to me. It was extremely overwhelming and I totally regret it.
This project has helped me grow as a student by forcing me not to procrastinate, therefore helping me abolish that unsatisfactory habit. I would tell future students that NHD projects are a whirlwind of terror, anxiety, and depression. Even though this unpleasent project causes all of these symptons, when you are finished it is a great relief and you will be intensly proud of your work and how far you have come.
Alyssa: I definitely agree that NHD is worth it, and that the future students should never give up on it. It's almost like we were working so hard we never even realized what we were accomplishing!
Karoline,
What you said about it helping you grow as a student, working things out when there are two people making decisions, is completely true.
NHD has helpded me grow so much as a student. This has helped me by teaching how to manage things like my time for NHD, working with a partner like being able to split up work. I broke my bad bad bad habit of procrastinating. My partner Jared and I learned to not give up mo matter what! Our project got all deleted but we pulled through and came out ok. NHD has also helped me to meet deadlines and to put forth our best work and our all. Jared and I can now go into overachiever mode and accomplish anything with that. For all of the future NHD students, I tell you that you have to pick a partner that you can work really well with. You have to give NHD your all and to never give up!!!
The NHD project has helped me grow as a student in many way. Some examples is perseverance. Tucker and I went through a lot of difficulties with the computers and we had the fear of not being able to finish, however we made it to finals and Tucker and I are still friends thankfully. Tips for future REACH students, do NOT procrastinate! I said this to myself and didn't follow through, I know that work isn't fun, but when you have it all piled up and due the next day, just don't procrastinate.
Jessica, I agree, you can't only just think about yourself in a partnership especially if they are counting on you.
NHD this year has helped me grow as a student because I learned a lot of life skills and also a lot about the environment that I could possibly help me in the future. One major thing that I learned was time management. I learned this by having to balance the work of NHD with all of my other homework and after school activities. In the future this will help me when I have a bunch of homework to do along with a huge project. For all future students I would say that NHd is an incredible opportunity for you as a student and it will help me in high school and college. This project also gives you many skills that a normal reading and language arts class will not give you. Most importantly it was a ton of fun and even thought sometimes stressful it was enjoyable.
NHD has helped me grow as a student by eliminating my laziness and helping me make deadlines. Also working with a partner because working with other people or Co-Workers is an important life skill. NHD has also taught me to not give up when times are hard and to always trust your partner because they will do amazing things when the time is right. To the future students i reccommend to you that you pick a partner that you arvery good friends with because it will help you out through the NHD project; and if you are procrastinators go overachiver mode and get a lot of work done, it helped Josh and I thoroughout the Project.
The NHD project has helped me grow as a student because it has taught me various skills that are vital in performing a project this big, such as organization, time-management, and not procrastinating. Doing this project has definitely helped me improve in the skills stated above. For future students, make sure you choose a project that is interesting to you. You will be working on it for a really long time, so if you choose a good project, it could be sort of fun.
The NHD project this year helped me grow as a student in many ways. For one, the experience of working with someone else on such a massive project has been very beneficial. Life is often about partnership and learning to work well with others is important. Also, NHD has taught me researching skills and how to decide what information is important to include in a project. Time management and organizational skills were also things I learned.
For future REACH students: Never give up on NHD and make sure you stay on top of things. Having a partner is a good idea, but make sure it's someone that you can work well with and that you build each other up.
ETappy~ Im sorry you didn't have a partner. You did good without one though! I loved your project.
I think NHD has helped me with learning different time management skills and prioritizing the different tasks. Also, learning partnership and being able to trust and rely on your partner to come through. Some advice for future NHD students would be, be with a partner. I know a lot of people say working with a partner is bad because you'll end up with all the work, but honestly if you spilt up the work its not that bad. Plus, I was so glad I was with a partner because it isn't as lonely and sometimes can give you motivation!
NHD has helped me grow as a student by teaching me important skills such as time management, independence, organization, and researching abilities. Throughout doing my NHD project, these skills came in handy to learn. For future REACH students, I would suggest to create a documentary because in 7th grade you have the advantage to become familiar with iMovie and iPhoto. So, by 8th grade you have the knowledge of how to work with iMovie and iPhoto. NHD was a great experiance, and I am glad I had the ability to be able to create an NHD project.
Leah
I agree with you about working with a partner is beneficial!
This year creating and NHD project ha helped me to grow as a student in many ways. Most importantly I learned the consequences of procrastination. I also learned the value of having a good partner, because my partner always covered for me when i had computer issues. If I were to tell the kids from next year anything it would be that no matter how much you don't want to work do not procrastinate.
Rachel- i also learned how to manage my time well through the NHD project
Emily- I would have to disagree with you. Documentaries were so much easier to use, and more fun than creating a website.
NHD has had so much impact on my life this year, its amazing. It has helped me grow as a student by re-enforcing time management and helped improved my research skills. Our 7th grade language arts teacher last year hardly had us research or write anything. So my training from 6th grade was mostly gone. With NHD its so important to have good research skills otherwise your project will be a disaster. Then my partner and I also learned that its important to manage your time. This has helped me grow and is partly advice to future students; manage your time wisely. Make sure everything that you have to do, but is due at a later time is done right away. So say if an paragraph of your essay is assigned to be done by Friday on Monday? Do it the day you get it. Otherwise the work will just pile up. And also for future students, make sure you know your topic inside and out. Expect odd questions in judging. Be prepared for anything.
Emily-
Having a good partner is crucial if your doing a partner project. You have to make sure they won't give up on you and drop out.
My NHD project has improved many of the skills I need to be successful in life. This project has helped me to be patient when working with someone, to be responsible, to never give up and keep trying, to concentration for long periods of time, coup under pressure, and work hard to complete a long project. Out of all things I have done in middle school I truly believe NHD has helped me the most regarding learning how to work well with a partner to complete a project. As a student now compared to at the beginning of the year, it is as if I am a complete different person. I have gone from an unorganized, irresponsible, resistant student to an organized, responsible, more willing to learn student who wants to complete more projects like NHD. I am sincerely an overall better student now than I was at the beginning of the year, and that is all because of NHD. Everyone says they are glad NHD is over, but truthfully I will miss the project. I am truly glad I have had the opportunity to go to state because the future work will help me grow even more as a student. With the experience of NHD I now believe I will be able to do anything in the future especially in high school as I attend IB at Eastside, and through hard times not to worry and persevere through. NHD has hands down been my favorite project in middle school because of how it has helped me become a more confident student, and I am thankful for the opportunity and privilege of participating in the competition.
Dear Future 8th grade reach students,
Do not procrastinate on this project, it is a hard and long project and you never want to get behind. Also if you need help ask Ms. Haro and Ms. Thomas a lot of questions because it is fun to see their reaction when u constantly ask questions and you do not want to mess something up just because you do not want to ask. Also find a quiet place to work everyday, like the library, because you will get A LOT more work done when away from the distractions caused by friends!
Rachel- That is a great point about time management. I also did not do much work at home because of all my hard work in class. Another good point about attending Saturday sessions, I got a lot of work done at those.
Tucker,
I completely agree. It is good to have a partner that has skills that you don't have and vice versa. And learning first hand, you are definately right about not procrastinating.
This NHD project has helped me grow as a student by teaching me the skills of time management and hard work without a partner to help you. I would tell other students that the NHD project was a good experience that taught me a lot than I would have in a classroom. This project was a hands on way to learn what you want to learn in a certain time period while learning research skills.
Emily- I completely agree, the website enabled you to be creative more than a documentary.
I think my NHD project has helped me grow because it was a big accomplishment and this project really gave me confidence. It motivated me to take on big projects in the future. I feel that NHD has made me a more responsible student. We had to keep up with our bibliography and keep it updated. We had to make sure we had enough research and knowledge about our topic. Our script had to be cut down to a certain length, we had to record, and find pictures to match with our script. When we came to class we had to be prepared to work hard so we would have a good project.
Future Students: NHD is a tough process. I suggest a partner so you have two people working together on the project, but choose wisely. I think if you work hard and put a lot of time into your project you will accomplish NHD.
Maggie- That's right you really do have to be committed to doing this project and it's a long process.
NHD is not easy I will admit that, but I loved it. The work I put into it was really hard and it came out so fabulous. I learned about myself and my partner during NHD. I learned our work ethic and my strengths and weaknesses.
To REACH Students be careful of who you choose as your partner! Get a good partner with a schedule like yours so that you know what they can do that night and what they have time for. Also choose what type of presentation you like! Both are very rewarding, documentary made an actual movie and website made a website! Just website is more portable then documentary!
Emily ~ I think It would be fine ethier way,if you had a partner or if you did not.
Ever since we have started NHD in the summer, I have done countless things that have helped me grow as a student. The most important thing to me that I learned was cooperation. You’re not always going to agree with your partner. No matter the argument you will still have to finish your project. Also, I have learned that time management is a vital part of your NHD project.
To next year’s students,
This project is not going to be easy. No matter what happens NEVER give up. Finish what you’ve started. Once you complete this project, you will have one of the best feelings of your life and it should be!
Wrenn~
You provided an extremely valid point concerning the annotated bib. Great point!
Wrenn~
You provided an extremely valid point concerning the annotated bib. Great point!
1). NHD has helped me grow as a student in many ways. It has helped me learn how to manage time for one. Time management has always been something I struggled with and this project really helped me to realize just how important it is. Also, in doing a website, it taught me how to write concisely. It helped me to improve my writing skills quite a bit. It also taught me that when you are working with a partner, you should be taking advantage of each of your strengths and splitting the work accordingly. If you do this, there shouldn't be any fighting.
2). If I could give a piece of advice to future NHD students it would be to choose a documentary or website based on your strengths, not which one you like best. Also, pick a partner that you get along with, but also someone that isn't necessarily your best friend and that you have some different opinions than. This will help you because then you have two opinions on everything and you can bounce ideas off of each other. NHD is a great experience and all the work will pay off!
Nii Soja~
That is a great point about the distractions, it makes things a lot easier!
Throughout the year concerning the NHD project, I have grown immensely through hard work, cooperation, and teamwork. Starting from over the summer, the project allowed my partner, Leah, and I to figure out a lot about ourselves and our strengths and weaknesses. This definitely helped me grow because of the amount of work that was put into creating our documentary. Not only have we gone through ups and downs but those moments caused great pain and suffering."Without suffering there would be no compassion" and this is exactly how I felt when going through this project and how to deal with it.
To my future students, I would say that even though it might take you a while to figure these skills out always keep in mind that you will change a lot through the year of this project. Doing a documentary versus a website truly depends on your own personality and I really cannot tell you which one is better. I have figured out that a documentary takes a lot more patience and time but after it is done, I think those students who did do it feel like they accomplished much more than a website. On the other hand, websites have a lot of creativity if you are into that. Overall, I am quite pleased and happy on how this project turned out and do agree that I learned things from it that I would otherwise not. Thank you for the experience.
Leah ~ I agree with you and I thought personally us being a partnership was a very good idea. Though we had our ups and downs, I cannot thank you enough for helping on the project. I think the only way this worked was because our friendship is unbreakable and no matter what fight we get into, we cannot ever stay mad at each other for long. You were a big motivation to me and I cannot be prouder of what we accomplished.
NHD has helped me grow as a student by teaching me the importance of independence and time management. It has taught me that not everything comes easily and it takes hard work and dedication to complete something you are proud of and also a great project. To the future NHD students, I would say that you should choose a topic that you are interested in, because you will work on the project for most of the year. If you hate the topic of what you are researching, NHD will just be a huge pain and really not fun. Luckily, the topic Kate and I chose was something we both loved, so researching wasn’t completely boring and we were able to relate to our topic.
Emily T~ The website was a great choice, and that is a great point. Choosing a good partner was also really important!
The NHD project this year helped me grow as a student simply because it was probably the most difficult single project I have ever done. It taught me managing skills, how to cooperate with my partner (who helped me so much), and gave me insight on how to write better and use Macs better. One thing I would tell future students who are going to do the NHD project are DO NOT WAIST TIME. This is because as soon as you slack off for even one minute, you get behind. Eventually when the project deadline comes, all that slacking will catch up. Another thing I would tell future students is pick your partner wisely. Picking a bad partner would just make the project even more difficult. Make sure you get along with them.
Sarah, that is a really good one. Students definantly should take their time on what if they are going to do a website or a documentary.
Joey, I agree with you, this project definitely helped me learn how to use a Mac as well as many other things. Nice job!
My NHD project has helped me grow as a student in many ways. First, it taught me the importance of time management. In this project, there are major assignments and more minor assignments, and the ability to manage the amount of time you spend on each section of the project is a necessity to being successful, as well as balancing time needed for homework for other classes. NHD helped me grow as a student because it taught me how to handle a large scale research project and it taught me research skills that will be essential in my life even throughout college. Finally, NHD helped me further develop my organizational skills and clearly demonstrated how procrastination is a terrible habit.
For Future Students:
NHD is an extremely intimidating and challenging project, but accepting this challenge will be beneficial in so many ways, going from life skills to research skills. I recommend you choose a partner who has similar strengths as you to balance the workload and to choose a topic interesting to you because you will be researching it and working with it for 8 months.
Monica-
I definitely agree with you on the suggestion about thinking about your strong points. That was exactly how Dylan and I decided to do a documentary.
What NHD has helped me with as a student is definitely how to manage my time somewhat.i used to be a super procrastinator. NHD has forced me to learn to manage my time and how to execute every piece of my website with expectations set by the judges.
DEFINITELY you must always not procrastinate. Or else you will not fufill the expectations set by Ms. Thomas & Ms. Haro.
Emily ~ what did you say NHD helped you with?
Hey Ms. Thomas, I had a drum-line competition all day yesterday so I could not post my blog.
1) NHD has helped me better understand the importance of accurate and thorough research and understanding. Obtaining reliable sources and interviews really makes the largest impact on work and presentation/information.
2) NHD can be fun, but it takes dedication, teamwork, patience, and perseverance. Remember to pay a lot of attention to your time management as well.
Emily- I really agree with what you said about how the websites are more creative. They provide more options to make your website unique. I feel personally like the documentaries just were all too much alike considering the formats and media type. With the websites you have so much diversity.
Alyssa-
I agree, time management is one of the most important virtues of NHD.
NHD has helped me grow as a student because it really showed me how you can start from scratch and still make a great project. I didn’t know anything about my topic before NHD and now I almost know too much (almost). This project also taught me the importance of listening and working well with your partner. I have a great NHD partner who contributes ample amounts of information and opinions to the project and our documentary wouldn’t be half as good without her. To future students the key to having a great project is to have a great topic. Don’t go with what’s easiest choice something that is unique or controversial. Your topic will help you stand out to the judges.
Joey
I hope this is the single most difficult project we ever have to do but I sort of doubt it.
Post a Comment