Welcome to the Montana National History Day Website
What is National History Day?-It's not just a day, it's an adventure!
What is the National History Day Contest, you ask? Each year more than half a million students just like you participate. You will choose a historical topic related to the annual theme, and then conduct primary and secondary research. You will look through libraries, archives and museums, conduct oral history interviews, and visit historic sites. After you have analyzed and interpreted your sources, and have drawn a conclusion about the significance of your topic, you will then be able to present your work in one of five ways: as a paper, an exhibit, a performance, a documentary, or a web site. In the spring, you may enter your work into local NHD contests where it will be judged by professional educators and historians. If your work is chosen as one of the best, you will move on to your state's NHD contest. As a winner at your state NHD contest, you will be eligible to attend the Kenneth E. Behring National History Day Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park in June. This is where the best National History Day projects from across the United States, American Samoa, Guam, International Schools and Department of Defense Schools in Europe all meet and compete. Congratulations on embarking on your National History Day journey! It is sure to be a memorable one. You never know what information you might find, or whom you may get to meet. And the skills you will learn along the way will last a lifetime. National History Day makes history come alive for America's youth by engaging them in the discovery of the historic, cultural and social experiences of the past. Through hands-on experiences and presentations, today's youth are better able to inform the present and shape the future. NHD inspires children through exciting competitions and transforms teaching through project-based curriculum and instruction.  "I wish I had been able to participate in National History Day when I was in school. What a great way to get kids excited about history, research and the mechanics of composing a story. Students today are so sophisticated about their work. I might just have to snag a few of these young documentary experts for my next production!"
— Ken Burns Montana National History Day is proudly sponsored by:   
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2013 Annual Theme
Every year National History Day frames students' research within a historical theme. The theme is chosen for the broad application to world, national or state history and its relevance to ancient history or to the more recent past. This year's theme is Turning Points in History. The intentional selection of the theme for National History Day is to provide an opportunity for students to push past the antiquated view of history as mere facts and dates and drill down into historical content to develop perspective and understanding.
The NHD theme provides a focused way to increase student's historical understanding by developing a lens to read history, an organizational structure that helps students place information in the correct context and finally, the ability to see connections over time    |
