2014 Theme:
Rights & Responsibilities
Explore history through in-depth research in relation to
the theme using Primary & Secondary sources
Competition Categories
Choose between five categories:
A Historcial Paper
A Museum Quality Exhibit*
A 10 minute Documentary*
A Dramatic Performance**
An Interactive Website*
•
•
* Presentations may be either individual or group work. No groups
larger than three students.
** Performances can be individual or in groups. No groups larger
than 5 students
Exhibit Examples
An exhibit is a museum quality, visual representation of
the research and illustrated an interpretation of the
facts.
10 Minute Documentary
A documentary is a multimedia storytelling platform
that includes photographs, news clips, recorded
interviews, and other primary sources:
DoDEA example that went to Nationals
Dramatic Performance
A performance is a dramatic portrayal of your topic’s
significance in history and must be original in
production. It must be scripted by you based on
research of your chosen topic. Your performance
should have dramatic appeal, but not at the expense of
historical information.
Performances may not exceed 10 minutes in length.
Interactive Website
By developing a collection of web pages, connected by
hyperlinks, you create a self-guided experience for the
viewer that demonstrates your interpretation of the
topic and theme.
Entries in this category should include primary and
secondary sources, interactive multimedia, and
historical analysis. It should incorporate textual and
non-textual photographs, maps, music, descriptions,
interpretations, and sources to engage and inform
viewers.
Historical Paper
A paper is the traditional form of presenting historical
research. Various types of creative writing (for
example, fictional diaries, poems, etc.) are permitted,
but must conform to all general and category rules.
Your Historical Paper should be grammatically correct
and well written.
Papers must be no less than 1,500 and no more than
2,500 student composed or created words in length.
Common Elements in Projects
• Title page
• Annotated bibliography in MLA or Turabian style
• 500 word process paper (except for historical paper)
Beware of Plagiarism! You must acknowledge in
your annotated bibliography all sources used in your
entry. Failure to credit sources is plagiarism and will
result in disqualification.
Choosing Your Topic
Rights and Responsibilities
This year’s theme, Rights and Responsibilities in
History, is broad. You can choose a topic that allows
you to explore your interests in Asian Studies: science,
politics, the arts, education, inventions, philosophy, etc.
It’s your right to find a topic that you want to find out
more about, but you also have responsibilities: to
choose carefully and develop your project in ways that
best use your talents and abilities.
Topic Selection Process:
THEME
INTEREST
BROAD TOPIC
NARROW TOPIC
THESIS
Your Topic
Effective National History Day entries not only describe an event or a
development, but they also analyze and place it in its historical
context. To help you draw conclusions about your topic’s significance in
history, ask yourself the following questions:
How is my topic important in history?
How was my topic significant in history in relation to the National
History Day theme?
How did my topic develop over time?
How did my topic influence history?
How did the events and atmosphere (social, economic, political,
and cultural aspects) of my topic’s time period influence my topic
in history?
What were the causes and effects of my topic?
What are the differing perspectives/viewpoints on my topic?
Your Topic: A Snapshot in Time
• In studying rights &
responsibilities in history you
do not want to recreate the
event but isolate a period in
time in which history was
deeply influenced or
changed – this can be
positive or negative.
• An issue may have multiple
stories to tell.
• It’s your job as the
researcher to decide which
story is the most historically
interesting and the one you
wish to tell.
Atomic testing on Bikini Atoll
Your Topic: Frame it in Context
• In the research of a topic,
it’s important to study the
context and always ask
questions about the time
and place.
• Why at this particular time
and at this certain place did
the events evolve to
produce the outcome?
• Researchers should explore
both the intended and
unintended outcomes.
Rosa Parks
Your Topic: NOT a mini-biography
• Keep your topic options
open and broad: the
famous, infamous and
ordinary people of history.
• “History” is an expansive
subject across all disciplines
and periods.
• Look locally at the history in
our community.
• Move beyond the tendency
to create a biographical
project and find an atypical
approach that will place your
person in a historical
context.
Use Research to Narrow Your Topic
• Is it possible to do a
thorough job of
documenting and analyzing
your individual in 500 words
of exhibit text, ten minutes
of script, or a 2,500 word
research paper?
• Create an outline of your
topic that starts with a one
or two paragraph overview
and list three to five of the
most important events
connected to this person.
A Workable Topic?? Ready for Research!
• Rely almost exclusively on
Primary & Secondary
sources.
• NO Wikipeia!!! EVER!
• Use academic sources and
websites – not blogs or
editorials.
• Critical sites:
- the National Archives
- the Library of Congress
- Presidential Libraries
- University Databases &
Archives
Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words!
• Are there photos of your
individual, event, invention,
etc?
• With other people?
(important or otherwise)
• “Doing” what they’re famous
for?
• Look for “off-camera”,
revealing moments that
seem to capture the feeling
of the era.
• Use additional images to
express historical content.
• Photos are to enhance a
project, not to be used as
filler.
Place!!! What’s left today??
• Can you visit (literally!) the
birthplace, house,
laboratory, work center,
battleground, final resting
place of your event or
individual?
• Are maps available of the
site?
• Is there a museum,
memorial, hospital,
monument, etc. dedicated to
your person or the outcome
of their influence?
It’s All About the SOURCES!
• Is there audio or video of
your individual?
• Are they still alive? Can
YOU interview:
- them!
- family members
- friends
- colleagues/students
- scholars
- biographers
• Are taped performances,
recordings or speeches
available?
• Are there diaries, news
clips, letters, or journals
available?
• Are there physical
artifacts still around or in
use? i.e. invention, book,
vaccine, etc.
It’s All About the IMPACT!
Nationals 2009