Get Involved
Participate in National History Day® (NHD)!
We invite you to be one of the hundreds of students who annually participate in the Northeastern Wisconsin National History Day Contest. You will be able to choose any historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct research. You will use libraries, archives, historic sites, and museums to find the best resources about your chosen topic. After analysis and interpretation, you will draw conclusions about the significance of your topic and then present your work in one of five ways:
- Write a paper
- Create an exhibit
- Develop a performance
- Make a documentary
- Design a website
To register for the Northeastern Wisconsin National History Day Contest, head over to the Register tab! Student registration will open on January 1, 2024 and close on February 12, 2024.
First Steps!
Understand the Theme
Your research must connect to the National History Day theme, which is new each year. The themes are chosen by the national office and are meant to be broad. This encourages you to investigate topics ranging from local history to world history; from ancient times to the recent past. To understand the historical importance of your topic you need to ask questions about place and context, cause and effect, change over time, and impact and significance. You must consider not only when and where events happened, but also why they occurred and what factors contributed to their development. When thinking about your topic and theme, it is a good idea to ask yourself “so what?” To view this year’s theme, click on the Resources tab for students.
Choose a Topic
Topics for research are everywhere! Think about a time in history or individuals or events that are interesting to you. Start a list.
- Read books, newspapers or other sources of information. Explore the Internet. Watch documentaries. And add more ideas to your list.
- Talk with teachers, relatives, neighbors, or people you know who have lived through a particular time in history that interests you.
- Keep thinking, reading and talking to people until you have several ideas that are interesting.
Pick the one that fascinates you, but keep your list because you might need it again. Selecting a National History Day Contest topic is a process of gradually narrowing down the area of history (period or event) that interests you to a manageable subject. Keep in mind you will be researching and presenting this topic for almost an entire year. Choose your passion!
Developing your topic is perhaps one of the more challenging parts of NHD. It is a delicate balance between a topic that is too broad and one that is too narrow. You have to find enough information to connect the topic to the theme and tell its importance in history. But you cannot have so many sources that you are drowning in facts and can only connect to the theme in a very basic way.
Choose your Category
National History Day is an opportunity for you to decide how you want to present your project. Some students opt for using their interests and skills like writing or acting. Others opt to explore new opportunities by learning technology or designing a website. In addition to thinking about your interests and styles, it is important to consider how your topic might best be presented.
If you’re struggling to choose which category to compete in, take this Buzzfeed Quiz that will tell you your best category based on your learning style and interests!
Read the Rules
Each contest category has different rules and requirements. It is your job to be familiar with the rules for your selected category. To review a summary of the rules for each category, click on the Resources tab for students.
Get Inspired!
Why do National History Day® (NHD)?
National History Day is an exciting academic enrichment program for students in grades 6-12. The goal of National History Day is to promote the study of history in schools by offering a creative forum in which students can express their scholarship. As an established national program, NHD offers teachers a proven program to meet a breadth of social studies, literacy, and language arts standards. This project will enrich the work you are already having your students complete, while taking them beyond the pages of their textbooks.
Benefits for your school
- Helps teachers meet Wisconsin Standards for Social Studies.
- Supports best practices by integrating the disciplines of art, writing, and other social sciences.
- Easily content-adaptable for any subject and grade-level requirement.
- Caters to various interests and abilities of individual students.
- Encourages students to become conscientious and civic-minded by:
- Learning about history relevant to them or their community.
- Reaching out to academic historians, librarians, and archivists.
- Sharing their research with peers and experts.
Benefits for your students
- Diversified methods for thinking and learning about history.
- Creative opportunities for expressing their ideas.
- Experience in critical and analytical thinking skills.
- Increased self-confidence and pride in their work.
- Presenting to a variety of audiences.
Benefits for you
- Primary source and inquiry-based learning in your classroom.
- Independent learners having fun while exploring history.
- Unique way to make history personal for students.
- Introduction to a community of motivated teachers... like YOU!
Getting Started
It’s important to get your students started on the right foot for National History Day. We have gathered a number of resources to make sure your students have the tools they will need to research and create amazing projects!
- If students are struggling with picking a category or topic, direct them to the Student page under our Get Involved tab. We have tips for picking a topic and a fun category quiz!
- On the Student page under our Resources tab, there is a lot of information that will point your students in the right direction when conducting research, citing sources, writing process papers, and creating their annotated bibliographies.
- The UW-Green Bay Archives and Libraries offer limited research field trips in which your students are given access to original documents as well as an array of databases containing first hand accounts. Sign your class up for a research field trip. Under the Resources tab, visit Schedule a Research Visit @ UWGB to sign up for yours.
Why Volunteer?
National History Day® (NHD) is an exciting academic enrichment program for students in sixth through twelfth grades. The theme this year is Turning Points in History. Students research history topics of their choice related to the theme and create exhibits, documentaries, websites, performances, or papers. The goal of National History Day is to provide students with creative methods to learn about history. In the process of developing their entries, students improve their research, writing, and communication skills and gain an understanding of the importance of historical perspective. Students are given opportunities to use the rich historical resources found in their communities and throughout the state. Many students often become excited about history for the first time!
We are in need of adults and university students who are interested in history and willing to volunteer as judges or room monitors. Judges are not required to have formal history training. All that is needed is some knowledge/interest in history and a love for kids!
The Northeastern Wisconsin National History Day contest will be on Saturday, March 2nd, 2024 at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. Volunteer help is needed from approximately 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m., ending with an Awards Ceremony.
Groups of two or three judges will evaluate a series of entries in a particular category. The principal role of the judges is to provide positive critical feedback through both oral and written evaluations. The top entries chosen by the judges will advance to the state level of the National History Day Program.
A complete orientation session will be provided for judges prior to the event.
Please give of your time and talent to help make National History Day a success for the students! This is a wonderful opportunity for you to share in the enthusiasm, creativity, and scholarship of Wisconsin’s history students and teachers. You will truly find it a rewarding experience!
To register as a volunteer, head over to the Register tab!
Volunteer Descriptions
Judge
Documentary, Exhibit, Performance
Work in teams of 2-4. Evaluate student projects on pre-determined criteria, interview students (suggested questions are provided), rank projects that will advance to the next level (either a run-off judging round, or the State Contest). Complete electronic evaluation forms for all projects, which will be e-mailed to students’ teachers. Average number of projects judged is 5 – 10. Estimated time commitment: 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. (additional time may be required to complete your electronic evaluation forms, which can be done on campus in the computing lab, or at your home.) Training session provided on contest day.
Paper, Website
Same duties as above, but you will receive the students’ papers or websites approximately 1-2 weeks in advance of the contest day. You should have the projects evaluated and discussed with your teammates (this is usually done via email) prior to arriving on contest day. At the contest, you will interview students, and rank projects.
Run-off Judge
For categories that have too many entries to judge at once, several judging teams are formed per category. The top entries from those teams move into the run-off judging round. Run-off judges only evaluate the projects themselves and do not interview students. Electronic evaluation forms for all projects must be completed, which will be e-mailed to students’ teachers. Average number of projects judged is 6–9. Estimated time commitment: 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (additional time may be required to complete your electronic evaluation forms, which can be done on campus in the computing lab, or at your home.) No training provided; experienced judges only.
Room Monitor
Serve as gatekeeper for contest rooms, allowing only authorized people to be in the room at the appropriate times:
- Paper & Website categories – only student and judges may be in the room.
- Performance & Documentary categories – audience permitted in the room. Do not allow people to enter once the performance or documentary has begun.
- Exhibit categories – Only judges are allowed in the exhibit area for the first part of the morning. When interviews begin, only the student(s) and judges may be in the area. Measuring of exhibit dimensions and conducting word counts may be requested by judges if entries are suspected of non-compliance with rules.
Estimated time commitment: 7:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and/or 1:00 – 3:30 p.m. Training session provided on contest day.
Registration
Hand out packets to students and teachers as they check in. Instruct them to make a name tag for themselves. Answer questions about where they need to go and when. Sell T-shirts. Training session geared toward judges is provided which will help you get a sense of the flow of the day in order to answer questions. Estimated time commitment: 7:30 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. One volunteer needed to stay and staff the table the entire day (until approximately 4:00 p.m.).