Thomas Acampora, a social studies teacher at Baltimore Talent Development High School in Baltimore City, won Maryland’s History Teacher of the Year award given by the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and Preserve America, based in New York. The 24-year-old Baltimore City resident will receive a $1,000 honorarium and compete for the national award this fall. The school’s library also will be given an archive of history books and other materials from the institute.

What sets you apart from other history teachers?

 I’m a very nontraditional teacher, and I don’t do a lot of lectures. I’m very project-, research- and inquiry-based. It’s about getting kids to ask important questions about the past, so they can really take ownership of their learning. One of the things we do is simulate a town in U.S. history. So, we write the history of the town, have a map and watch history progress.

In today’s world, what’s one of the most crucial segments of history that students need to be aware of?

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It’s really important that students study and understand constitutional law and government because it’s a way of understanding their place in the world. When you learn about U.S. history, you’re teaching citizenship. ... When you talk about a specific battle, you’re probably not going to remember it five to 10 years down the road. But they will know how to think historically and develop their minds.

Generally, what kind of history do students know the least about?

Students often don’t know enough about relatively recent history — the last 50 years. Everyone goes back to the beginning of history, and they don’t have time to get to the current stuff. When they get to the Vietnam War, they’re happy. We do a good job with the past, but the thing that’s most applicable to the present is recent history.