National History Day (NHD) is an academic program for elementary and secondary school students.
Over half a million students participate in NHD each year. Students choose historical topics related to a theme in history. Students can participate under competition divisions:
1. Poster Division: Grades 4-5
2. Junior Division: Grades 6-8
3. Senior Division: Grades 9-12
Students not only learn about history, they apply what they have learned through creative and original productions. Students who participate in National History Day develop research, reading, critical thinking, problem solving, oral, written, communication and analytical skills that will prepare them for college and career, and also boost their confidence. After students have interpreted their findings about their topics, they will present their work in any category they choose. There are 5 categories:
1. Original papers
2. Websites
3. Exhibits
4. Performances
5. Documentaries
Students then enter their projects into our County Competition. Winners from the County are then entered into the State Competition, and State winners are then entered at the National Competition, which is held each June at the University of Maryland at College Park.
"More than 5 million students have gone on to careers in business, law, medicine and countless other disciplines where they are putting into practice what they learned through NHD" (www.nhd.org).
CREATING AN ENTRY
At the state level, students have many choices regarding the type of entry that best fits their personal talents and skills as well as the resources connected with their topic. It’s important to keep in mind that every category will involve a lot of writing and research. Even the performance and documentary categories involve a great deal of planning, research, locating of primary and secondary sources and analysis.
If you like to write, the paper category is a good choice. Only individuals can compete in this category.
If you like technology, consider the web site category or the documentary category. Web sites are fun if you like working with the internet and your computer. Keep in mind that web sites require research that goes beyond the internet to libraries, archives and personal interviews just like any other category. The documentary category is challenging for competitors who have not worked with editing software. Look into what software is available at your school or if you will need to find software on your own.
The exhibit category is a great idea if you like design, or if your category has visual elements that you want to show in your topic analysis.
Take some time to explore the different types of projects you can create for History Day to determine which category type would work best for your topic.
To learn more about developing your own entry, click here.
Over half a million students participate in NHD each year. Students choose historical topics related to a theme in history. Students can participate under competition divisions:
1. Poster Division: Grades 4-5
2. Junior Division: Grades 6-8
3. Senior Division: Grades 9-12
Students not only learn about history, they apply what they have learned through creative and original productions. Students who participate in National History Day develop research, reading, critical thinking, problem solving, oral, written, communication and analytical skills that will prepare them for college and career, and also boost their confidence. After students have interpreted their findings about their topics, they will present their work in any category they choose. There are 5 categories:
1. Original papers
2. Websites
3. Exhibits
4. Performances
5. Documentaries
Students then enter their projects into our County Competition. Winners from the County are then entered into the State Competition, and State winners are then entered at the National Competition, which is held each June at the University of Maryland at College Park.
"More than 5 million students have gone on to careers in business, law, medicine and countless other disciplines where they are putting into practice what they learned through NHD" (www.nhd.org).
CREATING AN ENTRY
At the state level, students have many choices regarding the type of entry that best fits their personal talents and skills as well as the resources connected with their topic. It’s important to keep in mind that every category will involve a lot of writing and research. Even the performance and documentary categories involve a great deal of planning, research, locating of primary and secondary sources and analysis.
If you like to write, the paper category is a good choice. Only individuals can compete in this category.
If you like technology, consider the web site category or the documentary category. Web sites are fun if you like working with the internet and your computer. Keep in mind that web sites require research that goes beyond the internet to libraries, archives and personal interviews just like any other category. The documentary category is challenging for competitors who have not worked with editing software. Look into what software is available at your school or if you will need to find software on your own.
The exhibit category is a great idea if you like design, or if your category has visual elements that you want to show in your topic analysis.
Take some time to explore the different types of projects you can create for History Day to determine which category type would work best for your topic.
To learn more about developing your own entry, click here.